Model Beast
by Thomas Mc
Summary: This is the story of how a top fashion supermodel, during a fashion shoot in Central Park, crosses paths with Devin, grandson of Catherine and Vincent. She soon reconnects with her past and changes her life in unusual ways.
1. The Park and Déjà Vu

**Model Beast  
**_By Thomas Mc_**  
**

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**Chapter 1 : The Park and Déjà Vu**

**Fall 2034**

Emily Hansen adjusted the waist band of the rather skimpy bathing suit she was wearing as she glanced around at the Central Park Band Shell. For the last five years she had been listed in that very rarefied category of 'Supermodel'. That title got her the best gigs with the highest pay in the most exotic locations. This shoot for the magazine's annual swimsuit edition would net her a tidy bundle and got her an all expenses paid trip to New York. The photographer had finished switching cameras and called the models back to work.

The sense of déjà vu, that had been plaguing Emily since she first arrived in this section of the park, persisted. She had never been in Central Park before in her life, yet everywhere she looked she was filled with the eerie feeling that she had seen it all before. In fact she had never been to New York City before. This in itself was a rather strange situation for a top model of the caliber of Emily Hansen. It seemed that every time a gig came up in New York, she found something more interesting somewhere else. She probably would have passed this one up, in favor of the Hawaiian shoot, if not for the fact that she had never missed this particular issue of the magazine since the first time they had invited her six years ago. It was her first appearance in the swimsuit edition that had catapulted her into the supermodel status.

Now that she was here Emily had quickly fallen in love with the city and was seriously thinking of relocating here. One of her idols, Supermodel Victoria Burch had come from New York. The love affair between Victoria and Elliot Burch was legendary. She wondered momentarily if she would ever get that lucky. The photographer was finished with her for now. He called for a two hour lunch break while all the equipment was relocated to the Delecorte Amphitheater for this evening's session. The other three models headed off to the small motor home that had been set up for their use.

Emily put on a cover-up and started to wander around. She was thinking that after the job was over, she would have to come back to this park with her sketchbook. Something about this area pulled at her and she wanted to see more of it. As she wandered further from the band shell the sense of familiarity grew stronger. She recognized landmarks yet, try as she might, she could not remember ever being here before. Her wandering became more deliberate as she found that she knew exactly which way she wanted to go. She saw the concrete drainage runoff culvert and recognized it. She paused at the entrance to the storm drain, her hand resting on the concrete wall at the edge of the opening. She **knew** this place but she still couldn't remember when she had been here nor even why she might have been in this particular storm drain. Almost without conscious volition she stepped into the strangely familiar concrete pipe. Emily was soon overcome by a mix of excitement, and dread. The tunnel was getting darker yet she was sure that it would get lighter again. Sure enough she did come to an overhead vertical shaft that allowed light into the darkening tunnel. There should be a junction just up ahead. She was sure of it.

She recognized the intersection the moment she reached it. Her attention was drawn to a rusty iron bared barrier that blocked one of the tunnels. The blocked off tunnel was only about four feet deep and ended in a blank wall. She didn't know why, but something was wrong about this place. She closed her eyes and an image sprang into her mind. She saw this place, twice as big. The tunnel on the other side of the bars was very long and looming just beyond the iron bars was a giant dark hooded figure. Her fear rose as the iron bars between them swung away and the giant stepped towards her. Emily's eyes flew open as she stood there before the short blocked tunnel breathing hard and shivering, heart pounding, as she glanced around.

She slowly got her momentary panic attack under control, as her surroundings shrank back to their normal dimensions. Then a second image appeared in her mind. It was a close-up of a furry hand with long sharp claws and it was pressed against the side of the tunnel, just beyond the bars about three quarters of the way up the curved wall. There was a gate in the iron bared barrier but a quick inspection convinced her that the gate had long ago rusted shut and would never again be functional. The image that remained in her mind of the clawed hand pressed against the curved wall drew her gaze to that spot just beyond the iron bars. She could just make out a discolored patch on the curved wall, just past the bars, exactly where she had seen the clawed hand of her vision. She gazed at the spot for a moment then hesitantly reached through the bars to touch that discolored spot. She could feel a very slight difference in the texture of the spot. She pressed the discolored patch. Nothing happened. Feeling a bit foolish she withdrew her hand and, shaking her head, she turned away to head back out of the storm drain.

She had gone less than six steps when that image of the furry clawed hand pressed against that spot on the wall, again flashed through her mind. She stopped, turned around and returned to the blocked tunnel. She studied the iron barrier and that particular section of the tunnel wall as best as she could in the dim light. Again she reached through the bars and touched the discolored patch and pushed. Nothing. She grabbed the bars with her other hand and pressed the spot much harder this time. There was a slight amount of give then the back wall of the short tunnel started to move aside with a very faint grinding sound. Her heart was again pounding as she watched the back wall slide aside, revealing the long tunnel from her other vision. Then there was a metallic click and the barred barrier, which she was still holding on to, swung away from the opening until it bumped her foot. She stepped back and pulled the barred barrier grate outward.

Emily stood there immobile for several seconds as caution and curiosity fought for mastery of her mind. Finally the curiosity won, it usually did with her, and she stepped through the opening into the newly revealed tunnel. She had gone about a dozen feet when she was startled by the sound of a metallic click behind her. Whipping around she saw that the iron barred barrier had closed. She ran back and found the barrier locked solidly in place. She felt a moment of annoyance then shook herself. She reached up and pressed the same patch but the bars remained locked. Then she became aware that the wall behind her was closing and in a moment of panic dived through the opening just before it closed completely. Now she was inside the tunnel and there was very little light except what came from somewhere far down that long tunnel.

After taking a moment to calm herself down she reached out to touch the blank, dead-end wall before her. Then she felt blindly along the curved sides of the tunnel but could find nothing to reopen the sliding wall. She succumbed to another moment of panic before she turned back around and slowly began making her way down the tunnel. It was lighter at the far end so maybe there was a way out. She quickly realized that this new tunnel was not at all familiar to her.

The further Emily went without finding a way out the more worried she became that she might become lost in this maze of tunnels if she wasn't careful. She came to another four way junction and stopped. She wondered if she should continue on or maybe return to that hidden door and try again to find a way to open it. She was startled by the sound of foot steps ahead of her. She emitted a little squeak of surprise and froze as a huge cloaked and hooded figure came out of a side tunnel, stopping about twelve feet away. The hood was pulled so far forward that his features were completely hidden. She placed her hand against the tunnel wall to steady herself. The dark hooded figure looked so much like the one from her vision.

"Hold it right there. Who are you? How did you get down here?" There was something so incredibly sexy about the voice from under that hood that it sent chills right through her and it took a few seconds for his actual words to register.

I . . . I'm Emily Hansen." She paused trying to get herself under control while wondering if the stranger would recognize her name. "I, ah, I don't know why but that hidden entrance up in the park was so familiar to me. So I followed the tunnel to see where it led but I haven't seen anything else down here that I recognize." She shrugged. She could almost feel him staring intently at her but she wasn't particularly bothered by that. Being stared at was part of being a well known supermodel.

"You knew how to open the tunnel entrance?" The shadowy figure asked in surprise.

"Not exactly." She thought about it. "I knew there should be a passageway at that point but I didn't know how to open it. I just had a memory of a, aaahh . . . a hand pushing against the wall at a certain point and that's how I found the lock."

The large figure appeared to study her quietly a moment then he spoke again. "You really shouldn't be here." There was another pause. "You should go back the way you came."

That voice continued to stir something deep inside of Emily. The more he spoke the more she was drawn to him. He was so reminiscent of the hooded giant from her vision, except she was nearly as tall as this cloaked figure. "I don't know how to open the door from the inside." She took a couple of steps towards the cloaked figure, trying to get a better look at him, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Can you help me get back out?" She took another step toward him and he took a step back. She couldn't help glancing down toward his hands but they were hidden beneath his cloak.

Emily took another step toward the figure, staring intently into the dark recess of his hood, and he took another step backward. The shift allowed the light from a nearby torch to partially penetrate under the hood illuminating a portion of his face. Emily's eyes opened wide as she emitted a little gasp. What she could see of his features was startling, frightening and somehow familiar. _Surprise_ and just a tiny hint of _fear_ warred with rampant _curiosity_ and the resurgence of that sense of déjà vu for a moment. She had to see, had to know. Then with out thinking she took three quick steps forward and reached out for his hood. A fur covered, clawed hand, that had until now been hidden beneath his cloak, came up to block her outstretched hand. Her mouth fell open and her eyes got even wider as she stared at that frightening and familiar clawed hand, identical to the one from her vision. Suddenly the two images, the hooded giant and the clawed hand fused into one image in her mind.

The tableau held for about a second then the clawed hand disappeared beneath the cloak almost too fast to follow. In a daze, Emily took another step forward and pushed the hood back. Again her heart was pounding yet she was nowhere near as frightened as she thought she should be. She was _amazed_ but only _mildly surprised_. The revealed face looked almost exactly like the way she had always pictured the 'Creature of Central Park' ever since she first heard about that urban myth back in elementary school. Except the colors and size were wrong. The leonine creature before her had brownish red fur and bright green eyes, yet she was sure that he should have wheat gold fur and sapphire blue eyes. And he was nowhere near as big as she had expected. In her mind's eye she only came up to his waist, yet she was almost as tall as the creature before her.

They stared at each other for several seconds. Emily's fear had completely vanished and she felt herself being drawn in by those eyes that she just knew were the wrong color. Finally she spoke. "What . . . Who . are . you?"

There was a look of amazement and surprise in those very expressive green eyes as they stared back at her. After a moment's pause, he spoke. "My name is Devin." Another pause. "What you see, is what I am." He responded, and then he cocked his head. "You're not afraid of me?"

She shrugged, shaking her head. "I should be. Your appearance is surely reason enough, but instead I feel . . ." She paused considering, in surprise, just exactly how she did feel and realized that she felt no fear of him at all. "I feel safe . . . almost as though I should know you." She looked closer, puzzled. "Except I'm positive your eyes should be blue." She looked him up and down, appraising him. "I don't understand it. I know I've never seen you before, or anyone even remotely like you, yet I recognize you. I've had this image in my mind for most of my life. It's the way I have always pictured the mythical Creature of Central Park . . . only you're not mythical are you . . . You're real." She shivered from the chill of the tunnels that had penetrated her light, thigh length, bathing suit cover-up.

"You're cold." Devin stated as he immediately whipped off his hooded cloak and placed it around her.

Emily got goose bumps as she felt the residual heat from his body that clung to the inside of his cloak. "Thank-you." She responded as she pulled the cloak tighter around herself savoring the warmth of it. "Um . . . Do you think you could show me how to get back up into the park?" She looked down at the ground a moment then glanced at the very expensive Lady Rolex watch, that she had purchased only a day ago at an upscale New York jeweler. "I . . ." She looked up into his mesmerizing green eyes. "I'm supposed to be at the Delecorte Theater in about thirty minutes for the rest of today's photo shoot."

Devin gazed at this strange, tall, incredibly beautiful, blond haired, gray eyed woman for several seconds. "This way." He stepped around her and started heading back up the tunnel the way she had come. Emily quickly caught up to him and took position by his side. Her long stride made it easy to keep up with his brisk pace. Devin found his gaze continuously drawn to the incredible beauty walking unafraid beside him. Often when he looked at her she was looking back at him. He sensed _confusion_ and _curiosity_ in equal measure in her. Strange how the fear he had originally felt in her had vanished as soon as she had gotten a good look at him. She was an enigma. He was fascinated by her and wanted to understand why she had ended up down here and how she could know so much and be so comfortable in his presence; all without having ever been Below.

Though most of her attention was on the incredible creature beside her as she continually found her gaze drawn to him, Emily was aware that he was leading her along a different route than she had taken to get down here. He stopped at a new door and opened it. Inside was a narrow stairway that went up into darkness. He took a candle from a tray just inside the door, lit it, and then started up the narrow stairs. She had to follow behind him since the stairs were too narrow for her to go beside him. The walls on either side of the narrow stairway were made of large stone blocks and made her think of a medieval castle.

He stopped on the steps about halfway up and pressed his face against the stone wall. Then, after about a second, pulled his head back and pressed a spot on the wall. A section of blocks about the size of a small door swung away. Emily blinked in the light that was now streaming in through the open door. She stepped up to the opening and gazed out into a large room lined in the same stone blocks. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light that had only seemed bright relative to the light of a single candle. Devin stepped back and pointed through the doorway to an opening on the other side of the room. "Just go up those stairs on the other side of the room and you will be near where you want to go."

Emily stepped through the door and stopped in the middle of the room, glancing around. She turned to thank Devin only to see the door swing closed and virtually disappear. After a startled moment she ran back to where the door was located, but she found it difficult to make out its exact position, much less figure out how to get it open again. Then she realized that she still had on the cloak he had given her. She pounded on the apparently solid wall and called out. There was no response. She finally gave up and headed across the room and up the stairs. She soon found herself standing just outside of Belvedere Castle. The Delacorte amphitheater was just a short walk away. Emily easily made it to the theater in time for the shoot all the while thinking about her rather incredible detour and the unbelievable creature, called Devin, that had been her guide.

~ o ~

Devin's mind was spinning. That woman, Emily, had captured his imagination. She was taller than any of the women he knew, at least six feet, maybe six-one. And her beauty was almost unreal, like a perfect picture. He kept picturing those incredible gray eyes with their flakes of turquoise that seemed to sparkle in the flickering candle light. He was almost halfway back to the home tunnels before he shook off his dazed state. Then he realized that she still had his favorite gray cloak.

He ran back to the castle and checked the basement but the woman and his cloak were not there. Then he went up to the 'box seat' room at the top of the stairs and opened the hidden window, by this time of the evening the opening would be completely shrouded in shadow. He saw the crew over at the theater doing some type of fashion photography shoot. There were several models in swimwear moving and posing at several locations. He had no trouble spotting Emily. She was the tallest of the models. Then he spotted his cloak draped over a bench in the nearest corner of the theater seating.

~ o ~

The photographer called a halt for the day and Emily went to the changing trailer to get into her street clothes. By the time she stepped out of the trailer she had half convinced herself that the whole detour thing had been a strange hallucination. Someone must have spiked her water or something. It had happened before. Some jerks thought it was funny to slip something into the models' drinks, either to make them act silly or to try to take advantage of them. Then she spotted the dark gray cloak tossed over a bench in the corner of the theater's seating.

She went over, picked it up, and looked down at its very real, solid, weight. Then she held it up to her face, and breathed it in. The smell of candle wax, damp earth, leather, and some indefinable spicy musk invaded her mind, bringing forth the old familiar image of the Creature of Central Park. Then the imaged face morphed very slightly and her mind's eye was gazing on the image of Devin, the owner of the very tangible cloak she now held. She shrugged, smiled, threw the cloak across her shoulders and rushed to catch up to the other models. Together they all climbed into the limo and rode back to the hotel. The other models all commented on the cloak, wondering where she had gotten it. She chuckled then told them that she had run into the Creature of Central Park and he had given it to her. Christy, who lived in New York, gave her a side-long look. The others made various disparaging noises and they all laughed about it.

~ o ~

Devin knew he should leave but he just couldn't stop watching. The girls were **all** beautiful but it was that tall blond, Emily, which kept drawing his gaze. Finally they were done for the day and, as he continued to watch, they began packing up their equipment while the models disappeared into the mobile home they had been using as a changing room. A few minutes later he saw Emily come out and, after looking around, she walked over and picked up the cloak. Then to his surprise she held it up to her face and stood there like that for a while before throwing it across her shoulders and heading out to the parking lot.

He closed the window, deep in thought, and pondered the meaning of her actions all the way back to the dining hall chamber where he joined his two sisters, Caroline and Sharon. "Where's Michael?" He asked.

"He's with mom and dad. They went to visit Uncle Charles and Aunt Elizabeth at the brownstone." Sharon replied. "They were discussing some photographers that were supposed to be in the park for most of the week. They even sent out that pipe message saying to avoid the park for the rest of the week."

"Oh." Was his only response. The message must have gone out when he was in the upper tunnels. The normal message pipes didn't reach that particular area. He figured he would just wait and tell them about the intrusion tomorrow morning.

_**Continued in Part 2**_

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'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	2. The Paint Job

**Model Beast  
**_By Thomas Mc_**  
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**Chapter 2 : The Paint Job**

Devin, Michael, Caroline and Sharon were all seated with their parents, Jacob and Linda, in the dining chamber, eating breakfast. The subject of the magazine photographers had come up and Jacob was expressing his thoughts about the matter.

"It would probably be a good idea to stay completely away from the park until they finish. We don't know when, where or how late they will be out and we don't want one of them spotting one of you, especially if there's also a camera handy." He paused when he sensed _embarrassment_ from Devin and looked over at him.

"Ah . . . too late dad." Devin remarked. "I've already encountered one of them."

Jacob and Linda both looked at him startled. "When? Where?" Linda asked as a worried frown settled on her face.

"In the upper storm drain tunnels near the band shell entrance." Devin replied.

"In the tunnels? Inside the entrance?" Linda asked, very disturbed at this revelation.

Devin proceeded to tell them what had happened yesterday afternoon. Sharon and Caroline were both a bit impressed that their brother had actually spent time with Emily Hansen the supermodel. Jacob and Linda were both a bit worried that an outsider had found her way into the tunnels. Jacob decided that he wanted both entrances that Emily had passed through, to be carefully watched while the photographers were still shooting in the park. It was decided that Michael would keep an eye on the entrance near the band shell and Devin would keep an eye on the Belvedere Castle entrance.

~ o ~

Emily slept in late. It was going to be a long evening. They were all supposed to show up at the Castle by four to begin preparations for tonight's shoot. It would take about three hours to get prepped and have the body paint applied before the first round of the shoot began. She lay there thinking about yesterday's adventure. The long dark gray hooded cloak draped across the table over against the wall kept reminding her of what had, apparently really, happened.

She glanced at the bedside clock. **[****9:45****]**. She got up and got prepared for the day. She wanted to get a little shopping in before she went back to the park this afternoon.

As she was about to leave the room, the cloak again drew her gaze. She stopped, picked it up and began to examine it in the morning daylight that streamed in through the window. It was made of sturdy charcoal gray wool and had a black satiny, one-and-a-half inch wide trim along the edges and around the neck. The black trim was decorated with intricate dark blue scroll work embroidery. The cloak was held together at the neck by a leather thong that looped around two large smoky gray quartz crystal buttons. The deep blue satiny liner was removable and was held in place by a dozen ties that looked, for-all-the-world, like they were made from shoe laces.

As a top fashion model, and a bit of a clothes horse, she had a pretty good appreciation of quality custom made clothes. The embroidery on the black trim was hand made, and very beautiful workmanship at that, not some cheep repetitive product off of a machine. She couldn't help but admire the fine craftsmanship that had gone into the making of the cloak.

After a few moments' consideration, she shed her 'Christian Dior' coat and threw the cloak across her shoulders. Then with a self-satisfied grin she headed out the door.

~ BntB ~

Emily entered her hotel room carrying her load of packages. She dropped everything on the bed and started opening and sorting. Once she had all of her purchases sorted and ready to pack she made a surprising discovery. Everything that she had bought went very well with the dark cloak of Devin's. She hadn't done it intentionally, but there it was. She shook her head bemusedly smiling to herself as she packed it all away.

She had settled in for a while and was making sketches of the scrollwork on the cloak's trim when the phone rang. It was the limo, time to go. She jumped up and headed out the door, grabbing the cloak on the way. In the lobby she met up with the three other models that would be involved in today's shoot. Again the other girls were admiring her cloak and asking her where she got it and she again insisted that the Creature of Central Park had given it to her.

Emily and the other models entered their trailer and changed out of their street clothes. Emily glanced at herself in the mirror by the door. Not bad for a twenty-five year old, over the hill model. She had been in the business since she was fourteen and she loved every minute of it. Most models were on the downhill side of their career by the time they hit twenty-five. Emily was at the top of her game and was hoping to emulate her idol, Victoria Burch, who had worked as a top model late into her fifties. It was a rather lofty goal to shoot for, but Emily had never been accused of being timid.

The others put on long robes, Emily put on Devin's cloak, and they all headed out of the trailer. They were all led into the castle and down to a large, familiar, basement room where the four make-up stations had been set up.

~ o ~

When Devin had first arrived at the castle, he had entered the basement and looked it over then checked out the top of the basement stairs. After assuring himself that everything was as it should be, he had settled in with a good book.

Some time later he was disturbed by the sound of people coming down the stairs into the basement. He felt ten distinct presences approaching and hurriedly entered the hidden stairway just before the intruders entered the basement. Looking back through the spy hole, Devin watched several people drag a lot of equipment into the basement and begin setting up. After about an hour's worth of work, they had four identical stations of some sort set up in the room. Each station consisted of what looked like portable make-up tables plus a second table that held several small containers of what looked like paint along with dozens of various sizes of artist brushes.

Most of the workers left the room and the few that remained, apparently settled in to wait. Devin settled himself down on the stairs as comfortably as he could and also prepared to wait as well. He didn't think they could find the door and it was currently bolted from his side, but he couldn't leave it unguarded.

After about another hour he sensed additional presences approaching and jumped up to check the spy hole. He saw four gorgeous women reaching the foot of the stairs, including Emily. She was wearing his cloak.

~ o ~

Emily clearly remembered this room. This was where her 'Creature of Central Park' had led her out of those tunnels yesterday. She knew that there was a spy hole, somewhere in the far wall, which allowed someone in the hidden stairway behind that wall to see into this room. Her creature had peered through it before he had opened the secret hidden door.

She turned her attention to the current contents of the room. She glanced at the four work stations that had been set up, then immediately headed straight for the makeup station closest to that back wall with its secret door. She knew that would make her the only one of the four models to be clearly visible to anyone who might be behind that wall.

As she approached the back wall, Emily had a very strong feeling of being watched along with an indefinable air of familiarity. All her life she had often been able to sense the approach of other people before she saw them. She even bragged that no one could sneak up on her, usually. She was almost positive she could feel someone beyond that wall as she walked over to it and she just knew it had to be Devin. She thought about Devin looking through that spy hole before they had entered this basement area yesterday and smiled to herself. If Devin was there, keeping an eye on this particular entrance, he was very shortly going to get quite a surprise.

~ o ~

Devin watched as Emily headed towards the nearest of the four stations that had been set up in the castle basement. He assumed they were makeup stations since there were no changes of cloths in evidence. She was still wearing his dark gray cloak and he couldn't take his eyes off her face as she approached. She was gazing right at him, or at least the wall where the door was located. He saw a smile cross her face like she had a little secret. From the flow of her emotions he was pretty sure that she knew, or at least suspected, that he was here. There was also a large component of _mischievous_ _amusement_ in her emotions. A man and two women were standing near her and one of the women leaned in and said something to Emily.

Emily nodded to the woman and removed the cloak with an almost dramatic flair. Devin was shocked to see that she had absolutely nothing else on underneath the cloak. Her smile definitely widened as she then stepped over next to the wall very close to where he stood. Devin dragged his gaze back to her face and could clearly see the sparkle of amusement in her gray eyes. She definitely knew he was here and must have had a good idea what he was seeing, feeling and thinking.

~ o ~

There were about a dozen steamer trunks along the back wall, two of which were placed where Emily figured the hidden door was located. She pulled those two steamer trunks, they were empty and relatively light, away from the wall and carefully laid the cloak over them. Then she went back to the station throwing just a tiny bit more wiggle into her walk. Emily smiled to herself as she walked back to the makeup table. If Devin really was back there, and she would bet all her pay for this shoot that he was, he was certainly getting an eyeful now. She reached the table, turned and looked straight at the wall.

~ o ~

Devin sensed _curiosity_, _impish amusement_ and even a hint of _wistfulness_ definitely coming from her. The two women and the man surrounded her and started to wipe her down. Then they began applying paint to her body. Devin tore himself away from the view and sat down on the stairs trying to get his own unruly emotions under some semblance of control. Soon though he was drawn back to the spy hole. She had her back to him and they were covering most of her lower back in blue paint.

Then they turned her towards the wall where he was hidden. She winked at him. He gulped. She did know he was here.

After a couple of hours they were finished and they stood back from her to observe their handiwork. It looked like she was wearing a colorful one piece bathing suit. The illusion was perfect. If he hadn't seen the work being done, he would not have known that it was only paint.

Emily joined the other three girls and the four models trouped out of the room and up the stairs. Devin realized with a start that he had been totally unaware of the other three models that had been going through the same process in that room.

Within a few minutes the room was empty and Devin entered. He looked down at his cloak that had been draped across the steamer trunks that she had pulled away from the hidden door. There was a piece of paper on top of it. He picked it up and read the note written on it (in lipstick).

o - - - - - o

**_Thank you for the use  
of your beautiful cloak._**

**_ - E._**

o - - - - - o

He smiled to himself for a moment then looked up and thought for a minute. A big grin crossed his face as he wrote something on the note she had left him. Then he left the room and ran back into the tunnels. He didn't know how much time he had before they returned so he had to hurry.

Forty-five minutes later Devin was looking down at the steamer trunks and smiling to himself. He heard the commotion of several people coming down the stairs and quickly retreated into the hidden stairwell. He looked back through the spy hole to see what her reaction would be.

~ o ~

As they entered the basement Emily quickly made her way over to the far station. She glanced over at the place where she had left the cloak, and was very surprised at what she saw there. The cloak is still there where she had left it and there was also a single long stemmed white rose lying across it. She had once read an article about the meaning of different types of flowers and knew that a white rose could mean either 'friends' or 'forever' or both.

As she got closer she saw her own note underneath the rose and there was something additional written on it. She picked up the note and read the simple reply that he had apparently written at the bottom of it.

o - - - - - o

**_You're welcome. I hope  
you enjoy it._**

**_ - D._**

o - - - - - o

She picked up the rose and inhaled its fragrance. She returned to the work station, a smile spreading across her face.

~ o ~

The paint was cleaned off her body and a new bathing suit design was painted on. This time it was a bikini style. Several times during this process she would look directly at Devin in his hidden location and smile or wink and occasionally raised the rose that she was still holding, up to her nose and breathe deeply.

Finally they were finished. Emily placed the rose back on top of the cloak and they all headed back up to the surface. Devin settled in with his book to await their return. Finally he gave up and headed back down to grab a quick snack before returning. He got back to the hidden door just as the models were returning from their shoot.

After the paint had been cleaned off, the models put on their robes and headed back up to the surface. Emily draped the cloak across her shoulders. After glancing around to be sure nobody was watching, she blew a kiss at the back wall, then, holding the rose up to her nose, turned and followed the other models up the stairs.

It took another two hours for the work crew to pack up all their equipment and haul it all out of the basement. Finally Devin felt it was safe to leave his post and headed back to the home tunnels.

~ o ~

In the limo on the way back to their hotel the other models were curious about the rose Emily was holding. She smiled enigmatically at them and told them that it was from an admirer.

Back at her hotel room Emily looked again at the note Devin had left for her. She had tried to return the cloak to him but he had left this note and the rose instead of taking the cloak. Apparently he intended for her to keep it. She pulled it tight about herself feeling its warm softness against her. She took it off and carefully hung it up in the small hotel closet. That night she fell asleep thinking about her creature and wondered what he had thought about what had happened today.

~ BntB ~

The next day's shoot was over at the carrousel. Emily kept looking for signs that her creature was nearby but it was broad daylight and she didn't really think he would be in that park at this time of day.

The next day of shooting was over by the Central Park Zoo. The animals were a little less than perfectly cooperative and the shoot ran late into the evening. Shortly after sundown, just as she and the photographer were getting very exasperated, she spotted a large hooded, cloaked figure just inside the woods around the Zoo. Her temperament improved dramatically.

The last day of shooting was held out at the Statue of Liberty. That night Emily caught a flight out to France where she would begin work on modeling the new spring lines from Paris. She would be in four different fashion shows over a two week period. As the plane took off she glanced down at the charcoal gray cloak that lay carefully folded in the empty seat next to her. She had worn it in the airport and had refused to let it out of her sight on the flight. She had become very attached to it.

~ BntB ~

About two weeks after the fashion shoot in the park Linda noticed that she hadn't seen Devin in his favorite cloak lately and he admitted that he had given it to Emily that day he had found her in the upper tunnels. A week later she was up in the brownstone with Elizabeth watching a fashion show on the video. During the show they interviewed the models back stage and Emily was wearing Devin's cloak. By the next day it had become a major topic of conversation down in the tunnels.

_**Continued in Part 3**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	3. The Past

**Model Beast  
**_By Thomas Mc_**  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 3 : The Past**

**January 2035**

For the last three months Emily Hansen had been trotting all over the world, going from one fashion event to another. Such was the life of a top supermodel that was currently in high demand. By now those in the industry had become used to seeing her show up in that long charcoal gray hooded cloak. It had reached the point where the cloak had become her, very own, recognizable trademark. Several of the fashion magazine reporters had made note of it and asked her where she got it. She always told them that it was a gift from a friend. This had given rise to a lot of speculation about, who that friend might be, and where they had met, and what exactly was their relationship.

One enterprising reporter did some serious digging and finally established that she had first appeared, wearing it, at the Central Park swimsuit shoot last fall. His article stated that one un-named source claimed that it had been given to her in the park during a lunch break and that Emily had later joked about it being a gift from the Creature of Central Park. Like everyone else, he was unable to find anyone that knew who her admirer was or had even seen him.

Even down in the tunnels word had gotten around about the Supermodel and Devin's favorite cloak. This had gotten Devin a bit of extra notoriety and produced a lot of ribbing from his other siblings. The only thing generating more talk Below, was his sister Caroline's up coming wedding and her acceptance into law school.

Over the last four months Devin had asked several of the long time residents of the tunnel community if they remembered ever seeing Emily Hansen down Below. He even showed them some old magazine photos of her but nobody could remember seeing her. The mystery, of Emily's knowledge of the southern Central Park access, haunted Devin as much as the very interesting vision of her that he carried in his memory.

In the whispering gallery, Devin came across a small cluster of teenage boys from the tunnels. They were so intent on what they were looking at that they didn't see him approach. Thought he couldn't see what they were looking at, the sexually charged emotions he was sensing gave him a pretty good idea. "So what has got you bunch so engrossed?" He asked, totally startling the boys.

They all looked guiltily up at him, Billy held out a magazine. "We were looking at this." He replied shyly.

It was a two year old copy of the swimsuit issue of the magazine and it was open to some pictures of Emily Hansen. Devin glanced at it, started to hand it back, paused, then looked a bit more closely, his brows furrowed. Someone had erased the tiny birthmark on her upper left thigh and the small scar on her left ankle. Then he chuckled as he handed it back.

Billy paused a moment then continued shyly. "Did you really spend time with her?"

Devin nodded and grinned. "Yes I did, and those pictures don't really do her justice."

~ x x x x x ~

As Emily exited the Savannah Georgia airport arrival lounge, she was met by her parents. She didn't get home very often lately, with her busy schedule. She hugged her mother and her father, so pleased to be home again.

Her mother looked her over. "That is a lovely cloak you're wearing darling." She commented.

"It was given to me by a new friend I met in New York." She replied.

"There has been a lot of talk about it in the fashion media." Her father commented.

"I know." Was her only response along with her usual secretive smile she always wore when the subject came up.

The ride back to her parent's house was filled with local and family gossip. As they approached her childhood home Emily began to feel nostalgic as she recognized places from her childhood. By the time they reached her parent's house she was feeling quite mellow and relaxed. They passed through the living room and she noticed the coffee table littered with her mother's society magazines and fashion magazines. It was those ever present magazines that had first sparked her interest in modeling. Another fond memory of her childhood. Coming home was always the best way to unwind and get herself re-centered. Sometimes when things got too crazy, she would head to her parents home for a few days.

As they were sitting around the kitchen table Emily finally broached the subject that had been on her mind ever since the swimsuit shoot in Central Park. "Mom, Dad, there is something that has been bothering me and I wondered if you might know the answer." She paused as they looked at her expectantly. "While I was shooting in Central Park four months ago, I kept getting this strange feeling that I had been there before. The whole area around the band shell was so familiar that I was able to locate a particular spot I had never seen before, just by following landmarks that I kept recognizing. But I don't remember ever even being in New York before, much less Central Park." Again she paused. "Another odd thing I recently realized is that every time there has been a gig in New York I always chose a different job elsewhere. It's almost as though I've spent my entire career, so far, avoiding the place." She shook her head. "The only reason I was there this time was because that was where they were doing the swimsuit spread and I have never missed that since the first time I did it." As she had been relating her Central Park experience to her parents she had noticed them frowning at each other. There was even a hint of guilt in their faces. It was obvious to her that she had somehow touched a raw nerve. "Have we ever been to New York before?"

Her mother looked guiltily at Emily then glanced over at her father and he shrugged. Her mother then retuned her attention to Emily. "Emily, honey, you were only four at the time." Her mother began speaking uncertainly. "We were on vacation in New York with a group from our work. Part of the trip was a picnic lunch in Central Park, followed by a horse drawn buggy tour of the entire park, then evening at the art festival that was going on in the park near the band shell that weekend." Her voice faltered as she again glanced at her husband as though looking for reassurance.

Emily's father gave her mother's hand a squeeze then with a resigned sigh he took over. "It was while we were strolling through the art festival that you wandered off and disappeared." He looked over at her mother. Emily could see remembered pain in both their faces. "You couldn't have been out of our sight for more than a few minutes when we noticed you missing." He gave his wife's hand a squeeze. "By sundown the police had become involved and they were searching the whole park. That was the worse eight hours that your mother and I have ever endured. It was the only time I can remember your mother and I ever having a really serious fight. After you had been missing a couple of hours, it started to rain and we began blaming each other for what had happened. It almost drove us apart. As it was it took a year to completely get past the wedge that fight drove between your mother and me. I don't know if our marriage would have survived your loss. It was nearly two in the morning when you finally showed at the edge of a heavily wooded area near where you had originally disappeared . . . " He got a bit choked up and stopped talking.

Her mother took over. "When the police questioned you, you told them that you had gotten lost and didn't know where you had been. You also insisted that a giant monster found you and brought you back to that place where you reappeared." She paused. "At first we were so happy you were back unharmed and safe, we didn't care what you said happened."

Her father stepped in when her mother seemed to have trouble continuing. "After a few months though, we began to wonder about your continued insistence that a giant monster had found you, and become worried. You had always been an unusually truthful child so this story of yours bothered us. Several of our friends insisted that some bad person had probably found you and mistreated you. They said you created the monster fantasy to block the bad memories out and if we didn't deal with it now it could ruin your life. We were afraid they might be right so we took you to a therapist who specialized in treating abused children. We had heard a lot of good things about her success with helping abused children recover from the trauma over what had happened to them." He paused a moment. "The therapist kept trying to get you to open up about the person that had mistreated you and you kept insisting that a giant monster found you and he had only talked to you then brought you back. She kept pushing you harder; trying to force what she believed was the true story out of you. I'm afraid that that therapist may have pushed you too hard, because you finally reacted by wiping the whole New York trip from your memory and insisting that it had never happened." Emily could see regret in both her parents faces. "We finally took you out of therapy. After that, any mention of New York caused you to become very agitated so we just acted as though the whole trip had never happened."

Emily's father paused again and seemed to be forcing himself to face her. "The therapist was my idea and I think it was the worst possible decision. I have always feared that the trauma of what that therapist put you through may have only made things much worse. Before the therapist you had been relatively unscathed by your experience, except for your giant monster delusion. After the therapist you were a lot more somber, more introverted. It was like you had lost a lot of your self-confidence. It cost you a large chunk of your childlike joy in life, and I'm very sorry for that. It wasn't until you got into modeling that you seemed to regain that old exuberance and joy in life that you had as a little girl."

For a long time there was silence around the table as Emily watched her parents watching her reaction. While they had been talking, memories had come flooding back from that time long ago. She could remember most of the New York vacation now. She remembered the afternoon they had spent in the giant toy store and the Broadway play they had taken her to. She remembered the day spent in Central Park. She also remembered that therapist trying to convince her that the monster was actually a man that had molested her. The therapist had tried so hard to get her to lie about what had happened that she had finally just blocked the whole trip from her mind. But most clearly she remembered the creature that had found her, lonely scared and crying, deep inside that storm drain.

Finally Emily started speaking. "Like I told you, during a break in shooting, I followed the familiar landmarks and ended up in a storm drain fairly close to the band shell." She paused a while as she collected her thoughts then plunged ahead. "It was the very same storm drain that I had ended up in as a little girl when I got lost. The giant monster that I said found me was not a delusion. It was the Creature of Central Park and he was real. I know he is real because when I was down in that same storm drain four months ago I ran into him again."

Her parents were staring at her incredulously and she picked up the cloak that had been thrown over one of the chairs around the table. "It was him that gave me this cloak. I was still in one of the bathing suits from the fashion shoot and it was chilly in that storm drain so he placed this around me to warm me up. He is as real as this cloak and he told me that his name is Devin." She saw the look of disbelief on her parents' faces and pushed ahead. "That is the reason the therapist couldn't shake my belief in the giant monster. The urban legend of the Central Park Creature is true. He looks like he's half lion and half human. I've seen him, and talked to him, and I have this cloak as proof that what I experienced, both times, was real."

She smiled to herself as she replayed their encounter again in her mind. "By the way, he has the sexiest voice I have ever heard in my life." Her parents had watched the emotions play across her face as the memories continued to play through her mind. Then she looked up at them in wide eyed wonder. "There are **two** of them!" She blurted out in surprise. She glanced at both her parents. "There are two creatures. The one I encountered during the fashion shoot is **not** the same one that found me when I was four."

"What do you mean?" Her mother asked as she tried to process the impossible things her daughter was saying.

"I remember clearly now, the one that found me twenty years ago had light colored, almost golden blond fur and his eyes were the deepest, most intense blue I have ever seen." She closed her eyes calling up the image from so long ago. "There were also some streaks of white in his fur." She opened her eyes. "The one I met four months ago had dark brownish red fur and bright almost emerald green eyes." She paused a moment comparing the two images. "And I'm sure Devin is much younger than the creature that found me as a child." She seemed to drift off into her own world as she repeated quietly to herself. "There are , two , of them . . . Father and son?" She blinked and looked up. "Could there be even more of them?"

Having no answer, her parents just watched her ramble. Finally her mother asked. "Do you remember anything else that happened to you that night?" Her overstressed imagination had come up with some pretty terrible scenarios and, for her own peace of mind, she really wanted to know.

Emily collected her thoughts as she worked out exactly what she remembered from that day. "I, ah . . . I was tired and a bit bored. I saw a man with . . ." Her brows furrowed as she dredged up old memories. "It was a seeing eye dog . . . That's what it was. I remember, it had on one of those special harnesses that they use . . . anyway I tried to follow him but I got lost in the crowd. After a while I tried to find you but I was so small and there were so many people. I encountered a man that smelled bad . . . I think, he smelled of alcohol . . . He looked wrong to me and I ran away from him. After a while the crowd became so oppressive that I ran into a wooded area." Emily paused as she continued pulling up images from that time so long ago. "I wandered around a while 'til I found the drainage ditch. It had just started to rain a bit so I went into the storm drain tunnel to get out of the rain. After a while it got so dark that I couldn't see. I was so afraid. I sat down where I was and started to cry." She looked into her parents' eyes. "I don't know how long I was there but it felt like several hours. I wanted you both so bad but the darkness had closed in on me and I was too afraid to move." She stopped and swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat. Then, after a few seconds, she continued. "Suddenly there was light coming from in front of me, and standing in that light, directly across the tunnel from me, was the giant. I was so happy to see anyone at that point that it never occurred to me to be afraid of him." Her eyes opened in surprise as she clearly saw that scene in her mind's eye. "I think he was expecting to find me there but I don't think he expected me to run up to him like I did. I threw my arms around him and cried on him."

Emily stopped talking for a while to get her emotional turmoil under control then continued. "He held me and told me that I was safe now and there was no need to cry. After a minute or so he sat down on the ground beside me. That's when I got my first good look at his face and hands. His face was like a cross between a lion and a human. His hands were covered in fur and had long sharp claws. He sat me on his lap, put his arms around me and started talking to me in the most soothing voice I had ever heard, trying to comfort me." She stopped speaking and her eyes got wide again. "**Vincent** . . . He said his name was Vincent." She paused as she digested this revelation. "Anyway once he got me calmed down he asked me who I was and how I ended up down in that storm drain. I told him what happened and he said he would help me get back to my mom and dad. He stood up, he was so huge to me, and pressed a spot on the wall. The light went out then he picked me up and carried me back out of the tunnel. He carried me all the way through the woods to a spot near where all the people were. He set me down and pointed to the clearing, telling me to just head for where all the lights were and they would help me get home. He ran back deeper into the woods and I walked out of the woods to where they found me."

For a long time they sat at the table quietly absorbing everything that she had told them. At one point Emily muttered to herself . "Two of them. Vincent and Devin." She shook her head. "There are two of them."

Finally her father spoke. "And he never did anything to hurt you or upset you?"

"No Daddy, he was so sweet and kind to me." She thought a moment. "Even though he had claws and fangs, I was never afraid of him. His voice was so soothing and I thought the fur on his hands was so soft and cuddly." She looked up at her parents. "I know how fantastic it sounds and I might have thought I imagined the whole thing if I hadn't met Devin in that very same place four months ago."

Her father spoke. "Normally I would have a hard time believing a story like that, but I've known you all your life and you would not tell us something like this unless you believed it was true. You also say that you encountered this creature again last Fall, or one just like it, and you have that cloak as your proof." He shook his head. "I have no choice but to believe you."

The rest of the evening was spent talking about and remembering both trips to New York. Her parents pulled out some pictures of that trip that had not seen the light of day for twenty years. For her part, Emily tried to fill in details of the time she had been missing and her encounter with Devin four months ago. The only detail she didn't fill in was the secret doors. She decided to keep that to herself.

That night Emily relived both of her creature encounters several times in her dreams.

~ x x x x x ~

The next morning she called her agent and informed him that, contrary to her previous track record, she would be very interested in any jobs he might come across in New York. He told her that he had nothing at present and her schedule was already full through early Spring. He reminded her that next week she was supposed to be in Austin for three weeks where she would be appearing in three episodes of a currently popular detective show. At least she would be appearing as herself. She had never thought of herself as an actor. The only reason she had agreed to be on the show was because she was a fan of the two stars of that show and it gave her a chance to meet them.

~ x x x x x ~

Being on the show in Austin turned out to be a lot of fun. She really enjoyed meeting and working with the two stars. The last day she was on the set, Emily noticed one of the workers on the film crew looking intently at her cloak. She had left it across the chair that she sat in when not on camera. She walked up to him. "You seem inordinately interested in my cloak." She commented to him. Since it had become an integral part of her persona, this had become a common phenomenon.

The young man looked up at her. "I don't remember ever hearing of you in the tunnels." He responded in surprise. "Did Devin give this to you? It looks just like his." At that moment he was called for by someone across the set and sprinted away.

Emily was left staring dumfounded after him as he disappeared into a group of technicians working on some of the equipment. Finally she shook herself out of her stunned state and would have gone after that young man but they had started filming. The rest of the day she kept looking for him, there were hundreds of questions she wanted to ask him, but the two times she spotted him, she had been unable to approach. By the end of the day he was nowhere to be found and she couldn't find anyone that knew who he was or could direct her to him. She left Austin in a very frustrated state.

_**Continued in Part 4**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	4. The Return

**Model Beast  
**_By Thomas Mc_**  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 4 : The Return**

**June 2035**

It had been nearly five months since Emily had been in New York. She was currently back in Paris for another fashion show. As she approached the resort where it was being held, the crowd had spotted her trademark charcoal gray hooded cloak and she was immediately recognized and mobbed. The security people quickly surrounded her and escorted her into the building.

A few minutes later the designer she was working for on this job cornered her. He reached out and grabbed the edge of her cloak examining the embroidery work along the edges. "Qui . . . Who , who made this coat for you? Je must to know." He demanded in his thick French accent. "Le execution est magnifique." He stared intently into her eyes. "Je must have la person who did this. Je will someone pay anything. Say to me who made."

Emily took a moment to recover from his onslaught. "I don't know who made it. A person that I meet in New York last Fall gave this to me." She responded trying to back up.

He pressed in closer, still handling the material. "Le person, who is him? Which is its name? Je must meet him, discover which did this."

Emily continued to try to pull back from him. "I only was with him for about an hour. I don't know what his last name is. All he told me was his first name, Devin. I don't know where he lives or how to contact him. He noticed that I was getting chilled and gave this cloak to me."

"Je will buy, calls you your price." He pressed.

"I would never sell this cloak. It was a gift from a very kind person and I have become very attached to it." She snatched the edge of the cloak out of his hands and beat a hasty retreat to the model's changing room.

At one point while she was on stage one of the designer's workers tried to make off with her cloak but the other models stopped him. Emily had never been particularly fond of the little French rodent and vowed that this was her last gig for him.

That evening in her hotel room she got a call from her agent. He told her that he had two offers for her to work on another fashion shoot and a fashion show, both in New York on the first of next month. She enthusiastically accepted the assignments.

~ x x x x x ~

Emily arrived in New York three days before the shoot and five days before the fashion show that she would be working on. She settled into her hotel room and called the producers of the show and the shoot to make sure she got all the details straight and to let them know her hotel and room number.

She spent most of the first day checking out apartments in the Manhattan area. By the end of the day she had found three that looked promising. The first one was on Central Park West near the south end of the park. It was a two bedroom with a balcony off the master bedroom. The balcony had a nice view of downtown Manhattan and the south end of Central Park. The building manager claimed that the building had been used as the set for an old movie about ghosts in New York. The second one was also on Central Park West closer to the north end of the park. It was smaller but it had a large balcony with a spectacular view overlooking Central Park. The third one was located about five blocks east of Central Park. It was the roomiest of the three as well as being more affordable but it had no view.

That evening she went out to do a little shopping. Among her purchases was a large package of chalk and a heavy duty flashlight. The salesman had told her that the flashlight could shine continuously for thirty-six hours on a new set of batteries. She had specific plans for tomorrow. Then she watched a little TV. The first of the three detective show episodes, that she had appeared in, was showing.

~ o ~

Devin was visiting his cousins in the brownstone. He had heard that Emily was going to be appearing on a popular detective show tonight and he wanted to see it. The plot of the episode apparently centered around a serial killer that was bumping off supermodels. About eight minutes into the show Emily made her appearance and everyone else in the room immediately noticed the same detail.

Clarissa was the first to speak. "Devin, she's wearing your gray cloak." She looked over at him in surprise.

~ o ~

Emily lay awake in bed that night thinking about her encounter with Devin six months ago. She wondered if he ever thought about their encounter or about her.

~ x x x x x ~

It was a nice spring morning and, as planned, Emily had nothing to do today but explore. She threw her cloak over her shoulders, grabbed her box of chalk and her new flashlight, and headed out the door. She took a taxi to Belvedere Castle.

After spending an hour exploring the Castle, she headed down to the basement. She spent a long time examining the back wall. She knew approximately where the hidden door had to be. It took a pretty close inspection, but she was finally able to locate the outline of the door and she also located the spy hole. Next she started searching for a trigger to unlock the door. Finally, frustrated, she had to give up and headed out of the Castle.

Emily made her way across the park to the band shell. Once there she easily found her way to the storm drain culvert and down to the hidden access within it. She knew how to open this doorway and soon she was in the upper tunnels. Being careful to mark her way with the chalk, she made her way through the tunnels.

She had been in the tunnels for a short time when she came across a rectangular chamber that had several blankets and pillows folded up and stored on a ledge that was about three feet up from the floor. The chamber was brightly lit by sunlight streaming down through the grid in the ceiling. She could also hear people's voices coming through the overhead grid. She wondered momentarily if this could possibly be where Devin lived but decided that it just didn't feel right. It looked more like possibly a temporary refuge of some kind. She left the chamber and continued her explorations.

The circular concrete tunnels gave way to a maze of rectangular brick walled tunnels. After over an hour in these brick tunnels, she came to a large chamber that had several entrances. In the center of the floor was a fifteen foot diameter vertical shaft with a spiral metal stairway along the wall of the shaft. Noticing the relative lack of dust on the stairs, Emily decided to follow them down and see where they might lead.

She had descended about thirty feet into the shaft when she heard the sound of feet above her moving swiftly. She glanced up and saw that she was quickly being overtaken by what looked like a pre-teen girl.

"Devin!" The girl called out. "Someone's been making chalk marks in the upper tunnels. I think we have an intru . . ." Then she came to a sudden stop and stared in surprise at Emily. "You're not Devin." A hint of suspicion crossed her face as she took in the piece of chalk in Emily's hand. "What are you doing down here and where did you get Devin's cape?" She took several steps away from Emily and looked like she was preparing to bolt back up the stairs.

Emily tried to reassure her. "I came down here looking for Devin." She shrugged. "But I've only been down here once and I'm lost." She thought a moment then continued. "Could you lead me to Devin . . . or Vincent?"

The child's eyes got wide at the mention of Vincent, then, after a moments hesitation, carefully edged around Emily. Glancing suspiciously over her shoulder, the child said, "This way," and headed on down the stairs.

Emily figured that they must have descended a couple of hundred feet when the girl led her into another tunnel that appeared to be carved out of solid rock. Emily was soon glad she had worn the cloak because there was a slight chill to the air. They passed through a maze of intersecting passages and soon were into an area that contained dozens of chambers that made Emily think of small apartments. She had become aware of an almost constant irregular tapping sound. It made her think of the codes from those old war movies that her father liked to watch. The young girl listened for a few seconds then looked at Emily more carefully. "They know you're here and they don't recognize you. How did you know about us?"

Emily wondered how the girl could know that. The banging? "I have never been down here before but I do know of the hidden door in the drain tunnel and I have met both Vincent and Devin." She passed her hand over her cloak. "It was Devin that gave this cloak to me six months ago." She shrugged. "I just wanted to see Devin and Vincent again and talk to them."

The young girl stared at Emily a moment then turned to a pipe that ran along the wall and started to tap out a complicated code using a small metal object she had pulled from a pocket. After a few seconds she stopped. "OK, I told them that you already know Vincent and that you are with me." Then she set off down the tunnel with Emily following close behind.

Emily noticed that some of the openings they passed had tapestries draped across them, then she noticed that all of the apartment like chambers had a tapestry that had been hooked or tied back from the doorway. They also began encountering some people in the tunnels. Most of them barely noticed her and the girl. Those that did notice usually did a double take and then stared at her in surprise. There appeared to be a lot more people living down here than she would have believed. They stopped just inside the doorway to one of the apartment like chambers. Emily could see an opening to a second chamber through the far wall. She could see two beds in the second chamber from where they stood. Both rooms were lit by a couple of large candles.

The young girl called out as they stepped in. "Devin, Michael. Anyone here?"

So this was where Devin lived? Somehow it seemed to suit him. Who was Michael? There was no response and as they turned to leave she noticed a copy of the latest swimsuit issue on a small table and half covered by a book titled 'The Comedies of Shakespeare'. On an old fashion coat rack she noticed a cloak much like hers but it was a shade lighter with a bluish cast.

"They might be in the dining chamber." The girl commented and Emily followed her out of the small apartment chamber.

They met two lion-men coming toward them. One she recognized as Devin. The other one was not Vincent. A third one? She had wondered if there were more. Following a short distance behind them were two young women.

"Emily, what are you doing down here and what was that about Vincent?" Devin asked.

"I came looking for you . . . and Vincent is a long story." She glanced at the others. "Can we talk?"

Devin indicated the room she had just exited. "Well since you have gone to all the trouble of hunting me down, I guess we may as well."

As they arranged seats around the small table in the outer chamber Emily turned her attention to the other lion man. He looked so much like Devin that she knew that they had to be closely related. "There are definitely more like you than I thought."

Devin indicated the other lion-man and the woman sitting next to him. "This is my father, Jacob, and my mother, Linda." He indicated the other much younger woman. "This is my youngest sister, Sharon. My other sister is away at Columbia Law School." Emily's eyes got wide as several thoughts collided in her mind at the same time. His mother and his sisters looked like normal humans. Were there any females like him? They could breed with normal women? What was she getting herself into here? She became aware that Devin was still talking. "Mom, Dad, this is Emily Hansen."

She shook herself. "Ah glad to meet you. Ah, are you both Devin's natural parents? Are there, ah, are there any females like you?"

Sharon giggled and Linda smiled as Jacob looked at Emily with an amused grin as he answered. "Devin, your friend seems to be catching on quickly. Yes, Linda is Devin's natural mother and Sharon is my natural daughter. No there are no females like us." He paused a moment. "I would like to know how you know of Vincent." They all looked at her expectantly.

She looked back at them as the surprise of the newest revelations wore off. "Well, I, ah, I didn't even remember until a couple of months ago but I met Vincent twenty years ago. I was four years old and got lost from my parents. He found me and took me to where my parents were looking for me." She paused a moment. "Could you tell me who Vincent is? Is he still around?"

"I'm Vincent and I'm still around." Came a voice from the doorway. Emily looked up to see another lion-man with a snow white mane entering the chamber, followed by a familiar looking white-headed woman. "This is my wife Catherine." That's when she recognized her as Catherine Chandler. "Jacob is our son and Devin is our grandson." They approached the rest in the room. "I just had to come here and meet the outsider that knew my name."

While Emily's mind was spinning with all the surprising revelations, Jacob stood up and gave his seat to Catherine. Then he and Vincent picked convenient walls to lean against.

Again Emily got her swirling mind somewhat under control. "I, ah, guess since I'm the, ah, intruder here I should explain myself first." She then told them about what had happened six months ago when she met Devin, from her point of view. Then she told them about her visit with her parents and finally what she remembered from twenty years ago.

"I do remember you, now." Vincent remarked after a couple of seconds. "You were so glad to have been found that my appearance barely registered with you. I wasn't even sure if you noticed."

"Oh, I noticed. I didn't remember you but I remembered your appearance. Though I thought of it as, ah, applied it to, ah, to . . ." She found herself at a loss for how to say what she meant, afraid of giving offense.

Jacob spoke. "You were thinking of the appearance of the Creature of Central Park." He smiled at her surprised reaction. "Where do you think that urban legend came from?" He chuckled.

"I'm afraid it kind of started with me." Vincent added.

"So how long will you be in New York?" Devin asked. "And what were your plans?"

"I'm in town for a big shoot for a makeup company the day after tomorrow and a major fashion show two days after that." Emily replied. "Until then I just wanted to find you, and possibly Vincent, and get to know you better." She shrugged as she looked around. "I guess I got a bit more than I bargained for."

Vincent addressed the young girl that had met Emily on the stairs. "Alicia, our guest is getting hungry and so are Catherine and I. Why don't you run to the dining chamber and bring us some lunch, and get some for yourself as well."

The girl, Alicia dimpled and executed a half curtsy. "OK, Vincent, I'll be right back." And she skipped out the doorway sing-songing some nonsense about getting a new helper. Five minutes later she returned with another lion-man in tow carrying seven lunches between them. This time Emily was only mildly surprised by the appearance of another one of them.

"Emily, This is my nephew, Peter." Jacob smiled. "Peter, this is Devin's new friend, Emily."

Greetings were exchanged then Peter left and, while they ate, Vincent told Emily about how he and Catherine met.

Linda announced that she had taken long enough for lunch and had to get back to work. The rest all talked well into the afternoon. Emily told them about her life as a supermodel and they told her about life in the tunnels. After a while Jacob excused himself, saying that he had community business to deal with. Alicia also left about the same time. She was supposed to meet some friends at the mirror pool, whatever that was. The rest continued talking. Around dinner time Jacob returned with two teenage boys carrying dinner for everyone. The two boys couldn't take their eyes off of Emily.

After dinner, Emily was starting to get sleepy and checked her watch. It was after ten. "I guess I need to get to bed soon, before I pass out." She looked around wondering if she should ask for help getting back to her hotel.

Devin replied. "I can guide you back to the surface."

"That would be nice. Will it be alright for me to come back down tomorrow after lunch?" She asked hopefully.

Devin glanced around at the others in the room. "That will be just fine with us. I'll be sure there is someone waiting for you to lead you down tomorrow." Emily yawned. Devin smiled as he held out his hand to her. "I guess we'd better go before you pass out on us." He took her back up to the park and walked her over to the road where she found a taxi waiting. The driver seemed to be unfazed by Devin's appearance. Emily was informed that the driver was a helper.

_**Continued in Part 5**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	5. The Witness

**Model Beast  
**_By Thomas Mc_**  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 5 : The Witness**

Emily woke up bright and early that morning. She had decided that she would take the apartment near the south end of the park, since it was the closest to the entrance near the band shell. As soon as she was dressed and ready for the day she headed out of the hotel. She decided to leave the cloak behind because it made her too recognizable.

Her first stop was at the local branch of her bank to handle a few important transactions; she always preferred to do important business in person. Then she called up her agent and arranged for him to meet her at a nice new restaurant that was located just two blocks from the apartment building that she had decided on. Finally around the middle of the morning she headed for the apartment building where she planned to rent. It took her a little over an hour to take care of all the details and get the lease on the apartment she wanted. It was fully furnished and she would only be using it when she was in New York so there would be very little moving in to do. Once she got her keys she went up to her new apartment to look it over.

A half hour later she went back to her hotel and packed up all of her things and arranged to have it all sent over to the new apartment. A few of her more personal items, including Devin's cloak she packed and carried over herself. It didn't take her long to put away the stuff she had brought over. Once that was done she grabbed her cloak, since she would be going below right after lunch, and headed over to the restaurant to meet her agent. This would be only the second time she had met her agent face to face. She had often thought it funny that her agent was based in a city that she had never been to. They had been hooked up by a mutual friend in the business and the association had been very beneficial for both of them.

She arrived at the restaurant a bit early and got into a conversation with the owner and chef while waiting for her agent to show up. Then he introduced her to his young apprentice who had a bit of a thing for her. He was a rather charming young man of sixteen named Conrad and got a bit tongue tied in her presence. She decided she liked the kid and with a little coaxing was able to put him at ease. He did admit to having copies of every one of her swimsuit issues except the latest. Emily ran across the street to a news stand, bought the latest swimsuit issue and autographed it for the young man. She also posed with him while the owner took a picture with the young man's phone. The owner also got a picture of her with his entire staff to hang in his main dining room later. Then her agent, Martin Belmont, arrived.

They spent their lunch talking business as well as getting to know each other personally. She told him of her choice to relocate her home base to New York and gave him the address of her new apartment. Since he had lived in New York all his life he was able to fill her in on the history of the building her apartment was in. Apparently the building had been featured in the 'Ghostbusters' movie.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask you for months, where you came up with that cloak you have been wearing?" He was eyeing the item in question, draped over the chair next to her.

She shrugged with a laugh. "The Creature of Central Park gave it to me." And put another bite in her mouth.

The agent smiled and shook his head. "Some people might just believe you about that." He tilted his head as he looked at her. "I've lived here all my life and I've heard enough rumors about him to wonder if that particular urban myth might just have some kind of factual basis." He again glanced at the cloak. "Many of the stories I've heard, have him wearing a hooded cloak very much like that one." He grinned back at her. "Do you want me to play up that aspect in the media?"

She shook her head. "No Marty. I would prefer to keep it low key. If anyone asks you, just say that it was given to me by a friend and leave it at that."

He nodded his head. "That story of yours and the way you always wear it does generate a little air of mystery that makes for great publicity. Especially since you're keeping it's origin a secret without making a production of it." He thought about it a moment then chuckled as he continued. "Wouldn't it be wild if one day the real McCoy showed up wanting to know where you really got that knock-off of his cloak."

Emily smiled back. "Yea, that would be something."

Martin then went on to fill her in on some of the other urban legends associated with New York. After lunch, her agent took off in a taxi and Emily donned her cloak and started walking toward the park. She was thinking about her agent's comments about urban legends and the things he had told her about the Creature legend. She was not really paying attention to where she was going so she took a wrong turn and found herself in an alley. She stopped when she realized her mistake.

At the far end of the dead end alley were eight men standing around an old minivan type vehicle. The side door of the vehicle was open and she could clearly see several types of weapons as well as several unusual canisters of some type. They stood staring at each other for about a half second. Then she dropped the takeout bag, turned and ran just a split second before one of the men yelled out, "**Get Her!**"

Emily ran a slightly zig-zag pattern, her cloak billowing out behind her, as she bolted out of the alley. She heard three distinct shots ring out behind her and felt a sharp pain in her left side. The impact knocked her off balance and she took several awkward steps, nearly falling down, before she regained her stride. The Park was only a block away and she made straight for it. She heard another shot ring out and the screams of several people as she reached the border of the park. She could feel the drag of the billowing cloak slowing her down just a bit as she entered the park and decided to hazard a quick look behind her. There were four men with guns chasing her but, despite the drag of the cloak, she was still out running them. Her long legs combined with the hours spent in the gym keeping her shape were now paying off in a big way that she had never expected.

One of them fired another shot at her. She shifted direction slightly bringing her close to the more heavily wooded area and directing her more or less toward the band shell. Two more shots rang out and she dodged into the edge of the trees. Another two shots and she clearly heard a bullet hit the tree she was passing. She dodged deeper into the woods as three more shots rang out. She heard one of them yell out, "Spread out! Don't let her double back on us."

Emily chanced another glance behind her. Only two of her pursuers were visible and they had both lost a lot of ground against her. Her left side was starting to burn something terrible and her right calf was starting to ache. That and the cloak, that was catching on branches as she ran, were conspiring to slow her down even more. She was beginning to wonder how much longer she could keep this up. Another shot rang out, whizzing through the branches above and to her right, then she heard two more which shattered several small branches on either side of her. She spotted the band shell. She was getting close to her destination now but she could feel her endurance draining fast. A few seconds later she saw the culvert and made for it. She paused momentarily at the storm drain opening, leaning against the concrete opening and breathing hard. The concrete above her exploded showering her with small pieces as another shot echoed through the park around her, followed by a shout of, "There she is!"

She ducked into the pipe and ran down it until she reached the junction where the hidden door was located. The fire in her side was worse and she was developing a serious limp by the time she reached the hidden entrance. As she pressed the release, she heard voices coming from the direction of the park opening. She yanked the grate open passed through it and yanked it shut then dived through the still opening back wall into the arms of Devin. He took one look at her and hit a spot on the wall. The concrete barrier stopped then reversed direction. Emily leaned against the curved wall, panting heavily. Two seconds after the concrete barrier had closed they heard some incoherent shouting then the sounds quickly receded.

Devin turned back to face her, concern deeply etched in his face. "Emily, what happened to you?"

"Don't know." She replied, shaking her head as she fought to catch her breath. "Think I stumbled . . . the middle of . . . some type of . . . illegal deal." She got out between gasps. The ache on her right calf and the burn in her left side were both getting much worse as her rubbery legs began to give out and she started to slide down the wall. Devin grabbed her and picked her up, then took off running down the tunnel.

"I'm taking you straight to Teresa." Devin told her as she felt the strength ebbing out of her.

She glanced down at her left side; she was stunned to see that the whole lower left side of her shirt was soaked with blood. She must have been hurt worse than she thought. She couldn't see her calf. It felt like a particularly severe cramp. Despite being burdened by her weight Devin seemed to be moving incredibly fast. Then Emily was aware that he was setting her down on a padded surface and they were in a small rock chamber that looked, to her, a lot like a tiny emergency room. Had she passed out? A strange woman dressed in typical tunnel garb was leaning over her and she seemed to be drifting away on a cotton cloud that smelled vaguely like a hospital and candle wax.

Emily came awake with a start and glanced around. She was in a small cave like apartment. Then her memory came flooding back as she tried to sit up. She was hit by a sharp stabbing pain in her side and fell back. She became aware of a slight pulling sensation on her right arm and, glancing over at that arm, saw a red IV tube attached to it. A strange woman, she had just noticed, across the small chamber turned toward her. Emily tried again to sit up. Despite the pain in her side, she managed, with a painful groan, to accomplish it this time, just as the woman reached her side.

"Easy there." The woman remarked as she quickly adjusted several pillows and 'firmly' helped Emily lean back against them. "You've lost a lot of blood and you really don't want to tear those stitches."

Emily glanced down at the patch work shirt she now wore then further down at her bandaged calf and finally up at the woman. "How bad was I hurt? What did the doctor say?" She asked the woman worriedly.

The woman gave her a half smile as she responded. "My name is Teresa and I am your doctor for the present." She checked the IV, it was a glass bottle rather than the plastic bag she would have expected. It was half full of red fluid (Blood?). The woman, Teresa, continued. "You were shot twice. One bullet went all the way through your left side. It was large caliber and did a lot of tissue damage but didn't hit anything vital. All that torn tissue, however, combined with your heart pumping overtime from your running, did cause a lot of blood loss." She indicated the IV bottle. "The second bullet was very small caliber. It struck your calf and lodged in the muscle. I got it out. The damage was minimal, little more than an annoying ache and a small limp for a week or two."

She looked closely at Emily's eyes and listened to her heart. "For someone who lost as much blood as you did, you are holding up pretty well." She pointed at the IV bottle. "As soon as that is empty, I will remove the IV and you will be free to go, but be very careful not to put too much strain on those stitches in your side." As she was putting her instruments away she called out. "You can come in now."

Devin pushed aside the tapestry that was covering the doorway and entered, followed by a very professional looking woman that looked vaguely familiar. As they approached Devin spoke. "Aunt Elizabeth, this is my friend, Emily Hansen, the model." He paused a moment. "Emily this is my aunt, District Attorney Elizabeth Maxwell. Thought, to us in the know, she is Elizabeth Chandler-Wells. She's married to my father's brother . . . and yes Uncle Charles does look like Father and me."

Emily recognized Elizabeth's name and title. "You're part of them?" She asked incredulous.

"Actually my mother was raised down here and I've known Charles since I was a baby. We were born within days of each other and were practically raised together." She smiled and sat down beside Emily. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Emily gave Elizabeth a fairly complete description of what happened to her.

"As soon as you are able, I would like it if you would come down to my office and give a statement. I would also like to see if you can identify any of the men involved. Maybe we can get a few police sketches from your description."

"The doctor said that I could go as soon as that bottle is empty." Emily pointed at the IV that was now only about a quarter full. "I got a good look at them. I could sketch them for you." She blushed a little. "I'm no Michelangelo but I can do a reasonably good drawing of each of them." She glanced down at her bare wrist. "I seem to have lost my watch. Does anybody know what time it is?"

Elisabeth and Teresa both glanced at the large striped candle on the bureau. "It's about three-thirty." They both responded. At the same time Devin glanced at a watch on his wrist and amended. "Three-thirty-six." Emily laughed at the strange dichotomy over the way they each had determined the time.

By a little after four, the IV was finished and, after removing the needle from Emily's arm, Teresa told her that she was free to go. She added a final admonition to take it easy on those stitches as she left the chamber.

Devin offered Emily a cane and, along with Elizabeth, escorted her into the tunnels. After a short discussion it was decided to use the exit next to the government building rather than risk using any exits near the park. They currently didn't know where the bad guys might be and they wanted to avoid the possibility of running into them. They started out walking slowly in deference to Emily's injuries but soon found that they were required to speed up to keep up with her. The limp from the injury to her leg seemed to hardly slow her down. Devin did notice that she would wince occasionally and he could feel her reaction to the pain in her side and leg, but she simply ignored it and kept moving. '_Phenomenal woman_,' he thought.

By the time Emily was beginning to slow down, they had reached their destination. Devin remained in the tunnel below while they went Above. Once they were in her office, Elizabeth sent word to the police department and they sent two detectives, a stenographer and a police sketch artist. By the time the others had arrived, Emily had already completed sketches of three of her assailants.

Emily proceeded to tell the detectives what had happened to her as she continued to sketch. The one thing she altered in her story was the method of her escape. She told the detectives that she eluded the gunmen by cutting through a storm drain, (she didn't remember exactly where it was) and then ran into a doctor that was eating his lunch in the park. The doctor took her to his office and patched her up then called Elizabeth. Elizabeth had given her the name of a doctor to use in her story. By the time she finished her statement, she had drawings of all eight men and a drawing of the van and its contents.

The van sketch and the drawings of two of the men caused a great deal of excitement among the detectives. "Are you sure about the symbols you drew on the side of these canisters?" Detective Anderson asked, pointing to them.

Emily closed her eyes for a second dredging the image up in her mind. "Positive, Detective. I have a semi photographic memory. It isn't true photographic memory because I only remember details that I noticed at the time." She also pointed to the van drawing. "I didn't really notice the type of van it was. That's why the outline is so vague but I clearly remember everything I saw in that open door. And I noticed the license plate."

"That's what I wanted to ask you about." Detective Bailey asked. "You're sure it was '**9G1-OD1**' that you saw on that plate." He looked at her. "Why did you remember that so clearly."

"It was because it was so odd . . . pardon the pun." She began writing characters at the bottom of the drawing. "Move the numbers to the beginning and you have '**9**, **11**, **G** - **OD**'. . . 9/11 - Jihad." She looked up at them. "That plate and the contents of the van just sorta jumped out at me and I turned and ran."

Detective Anderson snorted. "That has to be a vanity plate. I can't believe no one ever noticed it yet you spotted it immediately."

Emily shrugged then winced at the pain in her side. "I've always been good at puzzles and word games."

Detective Bailey got onto the phone. "Yes Detective Bailey here. We have two known terrorists identified in Manhattan as well as six canisters of some type of bio-active compound." He paused a moment, listening. "Yes, we have sketches of the eight men involved as well as the license plate of the vehicle that was carrying the material at around one o'clock this afternoon. The vehicle was a dark minivan, make unknown. The license number is – **9**, **G** as in Good, **1**, **O** as in old, **D** as in dog, **1**." . . . "I'll have the sketches and witness's statement e-mailed to you immediately." . . . "We'll get right on it"

At the detective's request, she did an enlarged sketch of one of the canisters. It prominently showed the markings that had caused the detectives to become so serious about the matter. That drawing was added to the others.

The stenographer printed out Emily's statement for her to sign. Meanwhile Elizabeth had been scanning the sketches into her office computer. Detective Bailey handed Elizabeth a piece of paper. "When you get all of that into the computer, e-mail it to that address."

As soon as it was all assembled, Elizabeth sent off the information to the address she had been given. Meanwhile the two detectives had become involved in a flurry of phone calls.

Then Detective Anderson turned to them. "We need to get you under protective custody Miss."

Elizabeth spoke up. "There's no need to do that. I've already arranged a safe place for her."

Detective Anderson nodded. Elizabeth was renowned for her ability to make a witness apparently vanish from the face of the planet until it was time for them to reappear for the trial or whatever. It was said that she had learned how at the knee of the legendary Catherine Chandler herself. Plus she was the daughter of Joe Maxwell, and just as tough, relentless and incorruptible as he was. "Ok, then. I'll leave her in your hands."

_**Continued in Part 6**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	6. The Plot

**Model Beast  
**_By Thomas Mc_**  
**

* * *

**Chapter 6 : The Plot**

As the detectives were packing up to leave, Elizabeth looked up a very special e-mail address for a certain person that worked at a company that went by the name 'International Federated Films'. She sent a copy of everything to that e-mail address. She knew that I.F.F. was a cover for a very secret government agency that specialized in identifying and stopping terrorist attacks. She had learned about that agency from her mother in law, Catherine Chandler and had dealt with them before. John Stetson was a good man and this way he would be able to get onto this quicker than if he had to wait for the information to get to him through official channels.

Elizabeth took another hour to clear up a few details for her own report on the incident. She also made several copies of Emily's sketches to take with her. She would spread them around among those below and the helpers for good measure. Just before she and Emily left the office her computer beeped with a message.

**T****hanks for the heads up.  
We've been looking for those.  
- J. Stetson****.**

Emily smiled as she shut down for the day. "Come on. Let's get you back down Below where you will be safe." She grinned. "We can put you up in that chamber you were in for as long as necessary."

They left the office and went back to the building across the street where they went down into the tunnels. They were met by Devin who had been patiently waiting for them. As they walked along Elizabeth was commenting on the days events. "One thing about staying Below; The bad guys will never be able to find you down here and you can stay as long as necessary."

"But I have to be at a photo shoot tomorrow, and there is the fashion show in three days. I can't just leave them hanging." Emily complained. "It may not be in the same league as world saving, but I have never failed to show up for any project I have signed up for. It's kind of a matter of principal with me." She shrugged. "I despise those prima donnas that flake-out on their commitments whenever they feel like it."

"This isn't the same thing." Elizabeth insisted. "You have been shot, and your life could be in danger."

"Aunt Elizabeth has a point." Devin added.

Emily shook her head. "Tomorrow's shoot is closed to the public, only the photographer and his crew will be there." She glanced down at her cane and shrugged, trying to cover a slight wince when it pulled at her side. "I'm not really hurt that bad. As long as the clothes cover my injuries, and this shoot **is** for the fall line, I'll be fine." She then grinned. "Besides, I'm a model, I'm used to being shot. I've been shot by nearly every photographer in the business."

Though she tried to cover up her feelings with that bit of levity, Devin could tell that she was still in a bit of pain and not quite as fearless as she pretended. He had considered offering to carry her because of that pain, but he didn't think she would accept. There was a strong streak of stubborn self-sufficiency in her. It reminded him a lot of his Aunt Elizabeth. He figured if those two ever butted heads, the fireworks would be pretty spectacular.

"We can at least stop by my office tomorrow morning and I will arrange a police guard for you. You are, after all, an important state witness." Elizabeth offered as a compromise. Devin sensed a feeling of _relief_ from her at that suggestion.

"OK, I think I can go along with that." Emily replied.

On the rest of the walk back they talked about how to keep Emily safe and still allow her to do the job she had come to New York for. The photo shoot in the restored Radio City Music Hall, was easy since it would be a closed set. The fashion show two days later was a different matter altogether. Elizabeth promised Emily she would do her best to find a way for her to be at that fashion show without compromising her safely. There was an unspoken but definitely implied hint that Elizabeth was not happy about Emily going to that fashion show and Devin suspected that they hadn't heard the last of it.

As soon as she entered the chamber that they had assigned her she noticed that someone had brought in an old fashion hat and coat rack and had hung 'her' cloak up on it. When she looked closer she noticed that there were four new seams running the length of the cloak and the three bullet holes were missing. It also appeared to have been carefully cleaned, there were no signs of blood stains on it. She placed it back on the rack as Devin arrived to escort her to the dining chamber.

During dinner Elizabeth announced that there was a potential threat hanging over New York and passed out the copies of Emily's sketches. They were instructed to pass them on to the helpers and to keep their eyes open.

~ BntB ~

Elizabeth and Emily arrived at the D.A. office early the next morning to find a man in his mid to late forties waiting for them. The look on his face was very serious.

"John." Elizabeth greeted him. "I haven't seen you since that 2024 dirty bomb attempt." She cocked her head as she looked at him. "This must be a lot more serious than I thought."

"I'm afraid this could potentially be just as serious as that incident." He paused and looked appraisingly at Emily then dismissed her as very pretty but unimportant. "This is highly sensitive." He turned his attention back to Elizabeth. "Maybe we should discuss this in private."

Elizabeth responded. "John, this is Emily Hansen. She is the one that spotted those men and their canisters. Those sketches I sent you were drawn by her." Elizabeth placed her hand on Emily's shoulder. "She was shot twice while escaping from those eight men. I think she deserves to know what this is all about and she has certainly proved her discretion to me"

John Stetson gazed at Emily a moment, now with greatly increased respect in his demeanor, before continuing. "In that case I have a few photographs I want you to look at for me." They entered Elizabeth's private office. As soon as she had closed the door, John laid out some pictures across her desk then looked at Emily. "Do any of these look familiar to you?"

Emily looked down at the ten pictures he had placed there. Each one was of a different style of canister but they were all enough alike to have been the ones she had sketched. She closed her eyes a moment then looked closely at the pictures. After a second she picked up one and handed it to John. "This is it. This is what the ones I saw in the van looked like."

The line of his mouth and the look in his eyes became very grim. "That's what I was afraid of." He shook his head and looked up at them with a very determined look on his face. "This is just as serious as I suspected, Elizabeth." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Fortunately for us, you have supplied the critical information that has turned this case around for us. We already knew that these bio-agent canisters had been smuggled into the country but we didn't know who had them or where they had ended up." He snorted and shook his head. "We were looking for them in San Francisco. "You can't imagine what a break this is Miss . . ." Again he glanced at Emily then his eyes went wide with recognition. "Emily Hansen, the model?"

Emily smiled and shrugged. "Guilty as charged." She held out her hand. "Pleased to meet you, John."

John took her hand, still a bit stunned. "It's a pleasure to meet you, too." After a few seconds he shook off the stunned state. "Please excuse me for a moment." He pulled out his phone and dialed. "Yes, Harry, it's confirmed. The H9C canisters we were looking for are in New York. I need a full team, also alert The FBI and Homeland. This situation now has prime threat priority. Activate the New York joint operations center and notify the other agencies."

Elizabeth spoke up. "Emily has to be at Radio City in an hour and I want her to be protected. You interested?"

~ BntB ~

The photographer was a bit disturbed when one of his models showed up with an escort of a half dozen policemen and a man who identified himself only as a government agent. And to top it off she was using a cane and limping slightly.

Emily assured him that she could still do what she was being paid for as long as it didn't involve a bare midriff or her right calf. About an hour and a half into the shoot they had to take a break when it was noticed that the wound in her side had begun to seep. The crew's medic was called over to check it out and change the bandages.

"Miss Hansen, maybe you should call it quits for the day." John suggested.

"I'm OK, and call me Emily." She gently prodded the re-bandaged wound and winced slightly. "It's not that bad. I can continue with the shoot." She insisted. John was quite impressed by Emily's fortitude and professional attitude.

Around two in the afternoon, just as the photographer had called for lunch break, Elizabeth got a call. Afterward she called John over. "John, I think we may have found one of your canisters. A help . . . ah, a contact, spotted it in a subway tunnel near the U.N. building. She gave him the subway line identification and tunnel section number where the canister had been spotted. John immediately was on his phone passing the information to the operations center.

Emily insisted on treating both John and Elizabeth to lunch at a high end restaurant that was located on the next block over. All six of the police officers had already eaten lunch.

Fifteen minutes into their meal Elizabeth got another call. Two more canisters had been spotted in other parts of the subway and one of the men in the pictures had been spotted and was being followed. She passed the information and locations of the two canisters to John who passed it on to the operations center.

As they were heading back from the restaurant a preteen boy in worn patched cloths ran up to Elizabeth and passed her a folded piece of paper. She thanked him and he ran off, then she opened the note and read it. She smiled and handed the paper to John. It gave the current location of the van that Emily had seen. John phoned the information in.

By the end of the day five of the six canisters had been found at various places in the subway system. Each of them had a small explosive charge hooked to a timer attached to their side. All of the timers had been set for five-thirty p.m. on the next day, right in the middle of the rush hour.

They were back at Elizabeth's office and John had just finished talking to his people at the joint operations control center. "They just disabled the fifth canister." He shook his head. "When I think of what could have happened . . ." He shuddered. "Tens of thousands could have died and we're not out of the woods yet. The one that is still missing could easily kill several thousand people and based on the timers on the others we only have 'til five tomorrow to find it."

"What about the men?" Elizabeth asked.

"We have four of them in custody. The other four are still missing." He responded. "I'm going to head out to the operations center. What about you two?"

Elizabeth replied. "I'm going to get Emily safely tucked away for tonight." She paused. "I will also be out of touch tonight but I will be back in my office first thing tomorrow morning if you need me for anything."

John suddenly looked a bit uncertain. "Uh, Miss Hansen . . . I'm sure you hear this all the time but I would love to have your autograph for my son and ah, a picture of you with me . . . to tease my wife with."

Emily chuckled. "It would be my pleasure. And I told you to call me Emily." She gave him the autograph then Elizabeth used John's cell phone to take a picture of John and Emily together. She leaned in and surprised him with a kiss on the cheek just as the picture was taken. "Tell her I'll be waiting in the wings if she doesn't treat you right."

After John left, Elizabeth and Emily headed Below. Devin was there when they arrived, late, at the community dining chamber. Emily was hungry again and ate a light snack. What was left of the evening was spent in pleasant conversation, and discussion of the day's events.

~ BntB ~

Elizabeth arrived at her office early the next day to be met by John. He drove them both to the operations center where he introduced her to the others that were manning the center.

They were told that the bodies of two of the eight men were discovered by some of the FBI agents during the early morning hours. The coroner said that they had been killed late last night. The two dead men were arms dealers and smugglers rather than terrorists. It was believed that they were the ones that smuggled the canisters into the country then sold them to the actual terrorists. It was still unclear why they had been killed.

That still left two terrorists and one very deadly bio-active canister unaccounted for.

~ o ~

Emily woke up and stretched luxuriously. The pain in her side brought her back down to earth. She glanced around at the underground chamber. Her life had been full of exotic adventures but none of them could come close to the last four days. The erratic tapping impinged on her consciousness. She had become so used to it that she hardly noticed it now. She was going to have to learn Morse code; that would give her a head start in learning the pipe codes. After spending a few lazy minutes enjoying the soothing ambiance of this environment she climbed out of bed. A quick glance at her watch told her that it was not yet too late to catch the tail end of breakfast in the community dining room. She quickly got dressed in some of the tunnel chic clothes she found in the drawer. She glanced at her purse and with a shrug left it untouched; there was nothing in there that would be of any use to her down here. Grabbing her long gray cloak, she left the chamber in search of food.

As Emily entered the dining chamber she was met with several friendly greetings from those already there. She strode to the back of the chamber where the breakfast buffet had been set up. Though it had been devastated by all the earlier diners, there was still plenty of food left. After loading up with her selections, she faced the chamber and spotted Devin waving her over to a vacant spot next to him. He appeared to be about halfway through his meal.

"Good morning, Emily." Devin greeted her as she sat down across the table from him.

"Good morning to you too, Devin." She replied.

The food was very simple fare but it smelled so good to her. She dug in and marveled. She would have to pay a lot to get food this good in her world. Devin sensed her pleasure in the simple meal and smiled.

"So what do you have planed for today?" Devin asked her.

She paused shaking her head as she swallowed her current mouth full. "I have no specific plans." Another pause. "I had considered taking some time to get my new apartment organized but that isn't really important." She looked at him closely. She was sure he had something on his mind. "Why? Do you have any plans in mind?"

He cocked his head a bit. "I have nothing pressing today. I was thinking, if you are free, I could show you some of the more interesting sights down here." He shrugged.

She thought a moment then shrugged. "Sounds fascinating. I would love to see more of your world."

The rest of the meal was spent in friendly small talk. Afterward they both headed out to explore Devin's world.

~ o ~

John glanced over at Elizabeth. He could see the tension in her posture as she talked on her cell phone to one of her, apparently limitless, contacts scattered throughout the city. They both knew that they were up against the clock and several thousand lives may hang in the balance, yet in all the time he had known her, she had never let him down. She shut her phone and looked at him shaking her head. Still another dead end.

A report came in from some of the FBI agents that were looking into a tip she had passed on earlier. They had caught six leaders of the covert terrorist cell that had been supporting operations in the city. This was a major coup. There was a round of congratulations in the room but it was subdued. The last canister and the last two terrorist operatives were still missing. He glanced at the clock on the wall. Six and a half hours left. Six hours seemed like a lot of time until you considered the size of the city they were searching and the extent of the possible disaster.

Elizabeth's phone signaled and everyone else in the room was focused on her. They all knew that Elizabeth and her shadowy mysterious network of contacts was their best hope of stopping the impending disaster. Then with a cheer of triumph she announced that the last canister had been found. There was an immediate flurry of activity as the others in the room sent out orders to deal with it. After a while everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the news came back that the last canister had been deactivated and retrieved.

_**Continued in Part 7**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	7. The Fashion Show

**Model Beast  
**_By Thomas Mc_**  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 7 : The Fashion Show**

Emily gazed out at the underground lake and the beautiful thirty foot water falls on the far side of the great cavern. She sighed deeply and looked over at Devin. "This place is so beautiful." There was a sparkle in her eyes as she smiled mischievously at him. "I keep expecting to see a swarm of fairies flying past us at any minute." She looked down at the sandy beach they stood on then sat down and pulled off her shoes. It turned out that this chamber was much warmer that most of this underground world, almost summery by comparison. She then removed and folded her cloak then laid it on top of the shoes and, closing her eyes, she dug her toes into the sand with a contented sigh.

Devin stood beside her enjoying the pleasant play of emotions that were passing through her as she took in the beauty of this chamber. Emily heard a sigh from Devin that seemed to echo her own and looked up at him in surprise. He felt a moment of _surprise_ pass through her and noticed that she was looking up at him, her eyes wide.

After a moment the surprise wore off and was replaced by a sense of _wonder_ as things fell into place. "You're feeling my emotions right now aren't you." It was more statement that question.

He smiled back. "Anytime I'm near you I can feel your emotions." He replied. "It's all part of being what I am."

She shook her head. "Elizabeth told me that you and the others like you were empaths. I know what the definition of empath is but it just now hit me exactly what that really means." She cocked her head and smiled. "So . . . what do you think of my emotions?"

He thought a moment. "I enjoyed the feel of the way they played through you as you experienced this place." He paused a moment. "I can block my sense of you if it bothers you."

"You can do that, block it?"

"Yes, it takes a bit of effort and the block is imperfect, but it is possible."

She hadn't considered the possibility that it was something that he would have to actively block. Emily thought about it for a minute before responding. "I guess I don't mind." She considered the situation a bit more. "It can be a bit disconcerting to have someone privy to your inner most feelings but I believe there is no harm or malice from you so it doesn't really bother me." She smiled up at him. "So you like what you were sensing?"

"Yes I do. There is a great deal of warmth and good humor in you and I like the feel of it." He smiled down at her.

She stood up and regarded him for a moment, hands on hips, then gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks." She said. Then she gazed up at the vaulted ceiling that seemed to glow with every color of the rainbow. She stepped back, stuck out her arms and twirled letting the colors swirl together as she laughed with delight. Devin chuckled as he let her emotions wash over him. There was something so bold and unselfconscious about her that he found irresistible.

Emily spent the rest of the day with Devin exploring her new friend's fascinating underground world while, at the same time, she learned more about him with each passing moment. She decided that making New York her home base was the smartest move she had made in a while, especially with friends like Devin to come back to.

Late in the afternoon Emily and Devin returned to the dining chamber and wheedled a late meal out of the community cooks. Meanwhile, word went around that all six of the deadly canisters had been recovered and the impending disaster had been averted. After they ate Devin took Emily to the painted tunnels and the whispering gallery.

That evening Emily returned to her apartment to finish getting it organized. Immediately after dark Devin showed up on her balcony and spent a while helping her get the place organized.

~ x x x x x ~

Emily woke up in her new apartment. It was a good feeling knowing that she was in her own place rather than another random hotel room. After a few lazy moments she dragged herself out of bed. It was going to be a very busy day for her.

Just as Emily was ready to go, Elizabeth and John showed up to escort her to the big fashion show. On the way to Times Square, they told her that there were still two of the men she had identified at large. John said that he had six agents watching the area and the FBI also had agents in the area. They figured there was a reasonable chance that the terrorists knew who she was and would try to come after her. The FBI and his agency were determined to catch them.

There were four top fashion designers involved in this show and it would be a major event in the fashion industry. Several of the largest buyers would also be at this show as well as several members of the media. There was some consternation when the producers became aware of Emily's injuries since she was one of the primary centerpieces of the show. There were four other supermodels in the show but Emily was the one with the highest public profile. Much of the show had been build around Emily's persona even to the point of using the dark hooded cloak she had become famous for to add a bit of drama to the event.

There was a flurry of discussions among the producers and the designers over the situation. With a few minor adjustments they were able to work around the bandages and one of the designers came up with a way to work her cane into the overall theme of the show. One of the perks of her exalted position in the modeling industry was that, as long as she didn't over indulge it, they would usually do whatever it took to keep her happy. The fact that she was widely considered to be someone that was very easy to work with, also helped the few times when she needed some special considerations.

The show itself seemed to be coming off smoothly when another crisis cropped up. One of the models twisted her ankle on the stairs as she was leaving the stage. It was quickly established that she would not be able to walk on that twisted ankle. As the producers and designers were clustered around the injured model they were discussing what to do about the crisis when one of the producers glanced over where Emily, Elizabeth and John were quietly talking about this development.

"You!" The producer called out.

Emily looked up. "Me?" She responded.

The producer shook his head. "No, not you." He waved his hand in their direction. "You . . . in the blue top."

"Me?" Elizabeth was perplexed and disconcerted to suddenly find herself the center of attention.

"Yes you. What size do you wear?" He demanded.

"I wear size three." She replied. She glanced at Emily to find her grinning back with a hint of humor glinting in her eyes.

"You'll do." He called out "get her into Cynthia's next outfit."

"Wait! I'm a lawyer. I don't know how to be a model." Elizabeth protested as the crew closed in on her.

"What's to know?" The man remarked. "You put on pretty clothes, walk out to the end of the runway, turn around twice and walk back."

Elizabeth turned pleadingly to Emily. "I can't," She almost squeaked in entreaty, only to face that amused sparkle in Emily's eyes as she smiled back.

"There is one simple trick that often helps new models. When you walk out there, hold your head up and strut like you are better than the others and imagine you are showing off for Charles." Emily leaned in close and lowered her voice, an almost wicked gleam in her eye. "Imagine you are trying to entice Charles to follow you into the bedroom."

Then Elizabeth was surrounded and being hustled over to the changing room, a look of resigned despair on her face. Then it was Emily's turn on the runway. As she returned, Emily stepped off the stage and was rushed into the changing room. She spotted Elizabeth surrounded by a swarm of workers getting her ready then Emily was surrounded by her own swarm.

A few minutes later Elizabeth, dressed and looking flustered, passed by and Emily called out. "Remember, Elizabeth, you're the hottest woman out there and you want to entice Charles to chase after you." She saw a blush rise in Elizabeth's cheeks as they hustled her out of the changing room.

Emily approached the stage just as Elizabeth mounted the steps to the runway. After a moment's hesitation, Elizabeth squared her shoulders and stepped out onto the runway. Emily thought Elizabeth looked very good in the outfit they had put her in and she handled herself very well out on the runway. When she stepped down off the stage Elizabeth had a deer in the headlights look in her eyes as they hustled her back toward the changing room. As they passed each other, Emily gave her the 'thumbs-up' and remarked to her. "You did very good out there." Then it was again her turn.

As the event continued Elizabeth gained confidence. Emily told her that she was getting pretty good at it. John was watching the whole thing with amusement from back stage. On her fifth trip down the runway Elizabeth spotted the face of one of the two missing terrorists in the audience making his way toward the stage. She informed John and Emily as she stepped off the stage. John was immediately on his radio as Emily stepped nervously up onto the stage.

Emily spotted the man almost immediately and saw two agents working their way through the crowd towards him. The look of grim determination on his face changed to a look of surprised frustration. After a second the look of determination returned and he pulled a gun from his waistband. Emily dropped to the runway floor as a shot rang out. Almost instantly the agents were on him and pulled him down. After a moment Emily raised her head and glanced around. She spotted the other remaining terrorist at the edge of the crowd and called out as she pointing towards him, "There's the other one."

John and two of the FBI agents took off after the other man but they were hampered by the panicked crowd. By the time they reached the crowd's edge they saw the fugitive heading into the nearby subway entrance. They raced across the street and down into the subway station. At the bottom of the stairs John's gaze swept the platform looking for the fleeing terrorist. One of the agents called out as he pointed to the far end of the platform where John saw their quarry jump off the platform and follow the tracks into the dark subway tunnel.

~ o ~

From her vantage point on the runway Emily could clearly see the knot of struggling men. Her heart jumped to her throat when she spotted the rectangular blocks and wires strapped to the struggling terrorist's chest. She didn't know why the man had not set off his bomb, she was just thankful for their good fortune. She heard Elizabeth and three of the FBI agents trying to calm the panicked crowd and, after forcing down her own impending panic, added her voice to theirs. It helped.

Slowly they got the crowd calmed down as the agents subdued the man and removed the explosives from his body. One agent quickly exited the building with the explosives. Two other agents and a couple of police hauled the struggling terrorist from the building. The remainder of the agents and police helped to restore order.

Once everything was under control Emily finished her walk down the runway then calmly made her way back to the changing room. As soon as she entered the room she looked back out over her shoulder then collapsed at one of the makeup stations and succumbed to a bad case of the shakes. Her self control had completely fled as a few sobs escaped from her. A few minutes later Emily became aware of an arm across her shoulder. She looked up to see Elizabeth standing over her offering her comfort and strength.

"It's over now, Emily." Elizabeth told her. "I just overheard one of the agents out there. John has chased the last terrorist into the subway." She grinned. "Even if that bastard looses John down there, believe me, he won't get away from us."

Emily smiled half-heartedly. "I just can't believe how close we came. I keep wondering why he didn't set off the bomb he had on. He had us and he didn't set it off."

"I don't know and right now I don't care." Elizabeth replied. "I'm just glad they failed." She gave Emily a little shake and a squeeze. "Now let's get into our next outfits." She grinned sheepishly at Emily. "I hate to admit it, but I'm actually enjoying playing supermodel."

~ o ~

John and the two agents quickly made their way to the edge of the subway platform and jumped down onto the tracks. They could just make out the lighter shape of the terrorist in the gloom of the subway tunnel ahead. Soon they too were swallowed up by the dark tunnel. As they ran through the tunnel they could occasionally catch the sounds of their quarry echoing back from further up the tunnel and occasionally catch a fleeting glimpse of movement. John was feeling pleased. It wasn't like there was anywhere for their quarry to go. The next station in that direction was a mile away and there would be police there waiting for him.

John and the two FBI men with him came to a startled halt when they heard a sound that he would swear was the roaring of an enraged lion echoing back from somewhere ahead of them. Then they heard a man scream followed by another roar. John and the other two men looked at each other in perplexed uncertainty. They then heard the sound of running feet and looked ahead to see a figure running up the tunnel straight towards them. Soon they could make out the face of their man twisted in a look of pure terror.

The man was totally panicked and would have run right past them if the two agents hadn't tackled him. As they subdued the man, he kept babbling incoherently about demons from the darkness. John glanced nervously back down the dark tunnel. What could have so terrorized a suicidal terrorist? As they started dragging their prisoner back to the subway platform, John kept glancing nervously back down the dark tunnel. Something back there had scared the hell out of a hard core terrorist and he wasn't sure he wanted to know what it was. Everyone had heard the rumors of all the strange things that were supposed to inhabit the sewers and subway tunnels of New York City. There had even been a fair number of horror movies made about that subject but he had never believed any of that stuff . . . until a few minutes ago.

As they reached the station platform, John forced his mind away from his disquieting speculations and concentrated on his prisoner. With some difficulty they were able to drag their frantic quarry back up to the street where he was loaded into an FBI prisoner transport that was waiting there. The other terrorist was already in the transport and the agents guarding him made their report to John.

That was when John learned that the first terrorist had high explosive strapped to his body but it had failed to go off so he had pulled a gun. It turned out that one of the wires to the battery in the detonator had come loose, probably from the jostling of the crowd. John breathed a sigh of relief. So far this operation had been beset with a string of fortunate occurrences. The most important break being that the terrorists had made the mistake of choosing New York as their target where they had been thwarted by the efforts of Elizabeth and her mysterious network combined with the help of an intelligent and gutsy supermodel.

The FBI took control of the two terrorists and John returned to the resumed fashion show.

~ o ~

Late that evening, Emily went Below to have dinner with Devin and Elizabeth. Emily described the events at the show, emphasizing Elizabeth's part in the proceedings. Elizabeth talked, enthusiastically, about her first experience as a fashion model. Charles teased her a bit about some of the emotions he had sensed in her during that period. Devin's father, Jacob described, in amusing detail, his short encounter with the fleeing terrorist in the subway tunnel. Elizabeth added to the story by describing John's distracted demeanor when he first returned from that subway chase.

~ x x x x x ~

Emily woke up the next morning and quickly got packed. By noon she was on a plane to London where she was scheduled for a photo shoot early the next day. All during the plane trip she kept thinking about Devin and his unique family. She was becoming very fond of Devin. It was such a shame that their lives were so totally incompatible, or their friendship might have developed into something more.

She was a world traveler and she loved her lifestyle. Staying in one city would soon drive her crazy. That was why her career was so perfectly suited to her. Devin's life was defined by and limited to those tunnels below the city. There was just no way that they could be more than good friends.

It was all such a shame because, she had to admit, she did find him very attractive, despite what others might think of his appearance. Well the fantasy had been fun while it lasted.

_**Continued in Part 8**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	8. The Friendship

**Model Beast  
**_By Thomas Mc_**  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 8 : The Friendship**

**August 2035**

Emily was riding on the tour bus around Hong Kong taking it all in. This city made for a very interesting and exotic background to the advertising campaign she was currently working on. Yesterday had been the photo shoot for the poster part of the campaign, tomorrow would be the video commercial shoot part of the job. Last week had been the Hawaiian shoot for another ad campaign. Next week she would be heading back to New York for the other half of this shoot's ad campaign.

The last few weeks she had found herself increasingly thinking of Devin and the tunnel community he lived in. She was actually looking forward to getting back there and seeing Devin again.

The tour bus had reached the end of the tour and as she exited the bus she was accosted by the paparazzi. She pulled up her hood and, with the help of Danny, her company assigned security guard, pushed her way through them. As she and her guardian made their way toward the relative security of the hotel she thought about how similar Danny, her guardian, was to Devin. They were both big strong and reliable. They both made her feel safe when she was with them. That again brought to mind Devin's tunnels. In Devin's world she could feel free to just be herself and not have to worry about the everyday nuisances of her life, like those pushy talentless amateurs hoping for a big payday with a compromising picture.

Shortly after she got back to her room the limousine came to pick her up for the scheduled night shoot against the city lights. Soon she was posing before the dazzling lights of the city. This was the part of her life she loved most. The beautiful exotic locations, the fascinating people, the beautiful clothes and jewelry, all combined to make her life nearly perfect.

Towards the end of the shoot the photographer started to come-on to her. It was an occupational hazard, and, when she was first getting started, she had more than once acceded to such advances to avoid endangering her career. Now though she wielded enough power in the industry that she could just politely blow him off and not have to worry about it.

After the shoot was over, Emily took out her personal camera, and got a few pictures of the city lights and the people. She had purchased the small camera shortly after the last time she had been in New York. With the company supplied security guard, she slipped away from the shooting crew and the paparazzi and went strolling down the colorful streets of this very unique city. Wherever her work took her, she tried to get out among the local people and experience the place in person. That was another part of her life that she loved.

After about two hours the paparazzi finally caught up to her and she and her security guard made a mad dash for the limousine that he had kept nearby. Once they got her safely back at the hotel, she and her guardian sat in the hotel bar and laughed about the day's adventures. Danny had been new to the job of professional celebrity security guard when she had first started being referred to by the label of 'Supermodel' and she had been one of his first assignments. He had been a bit star struck but she had also been very impressed with him. Since then, she had always requested him whenever she went overseas. She teased him about the fact that he would be appearing in all the tabloids by next week.

Finally she snapped a picture of Danny and headed up to her room. That night she started out thinking about how nice her guardian had been, but before long she found herself comparing him to Devin again. By the time she went to sleep her mind was wholly occupied by Devin.

The next day was video commercial shoots. She had done a pretty good job of memorizing her lines though she did stumble over the odd important sounding chemical names that she was supposed to say like they were the greatest thing since sliced bread. They were able to finish up early and she had most of the afternoon and evening free. She treated her assigned guardian, Danny, to dinner at one of the finer restaurants as a sort of thank-you for watching over her. The rest of her free time she spent in her hotel room with her sketchbook drawing some of the sights that had particularly impressed or moved her.

~ x x x x x ~

As the plane approached its destination, Emily stared out the window at the New York skyline. It was just after sundown and the entire city glittered with a million lights. To her it was a beautiful sight that brought tears to her eyes as the single word '_home_' echoed through her mind. Her eyes were drawn to the dark rectangular patch that was Central Park and a lump formed in her throat.

At the airport she caught a taxi and was soon in the apartment she now thought of as home. The living room was half crowded with boxes. Some of them were things she had arranged to have shipped from her Los Angeles apartment. Other boxes contained things her parents had sent from her childhood home and a few of them were items she had shipped here from the places she had been working.

Emily tossed her suitcases onto her bed, quickly changed her clothes into something a bit warmer and left her apartment. She headed out of the building and across the street into the park. Ten minutes later she was approaching the familiar band shell where she could hear a concert of pop music going on. She quickly made her way to the drainage culvert and the secret tunnel entrance.

When she reached the metal grate it was open and a tall hooded figure was standing in the opening waiting for her. Without thinking, she threw her arms around him in a warm hug. "It's so good to see you again, Devin. I've missed you."

Devin returned the hug. "I've missed you too." He replied.

She pulled back from the hug. "How did you know I would be here?" She inquired curiously.

Devin shrugged. "I knew as soon as you arrived in the city. I felt your presence and I knew you were coming."

She looked at him curiously. "You felt me?"

He thought for a moment before he responded. "Just your presence. I didn't start feeling your emotions 'til you were well inside the park." As he spoke he had closed the hidden door and begun walking with her up the storm drain toward the surface.

Emily thought about what he had said then responded. "But I thought that you couldn't sense another's emotions from that far away." She was sure that someone had told her that their special empathic sense was only good for very short distance.

"Normally I can't but I seem to have become very sensitive to your presence and emotions. I was aware of you as soon as you arrived in Manhattan." He became very introspective.

Emily was now remembering some of the things she had learned the last time she had been here. She looked at Devin a bit uncertainly. "Is this . . . ah, is this that bond I heard about?" She wasn't sure how she felt about such a development.

Devin seemed to drag himself out of his distracted state. "Hu? . . . Ah . . . " He shook his head. "No . . . no, it's not the bond. The bond is totally unaffected by distance. It's more like a, aaahh, an enhanced sensitivity to a person you care about." He smiled at her. "I guess this means that I care about you."

Emily could feel a blush rising in her at his response then she became aware that they were outside of the drainage culvert and headed up the embankment. She could clearly hear the music from the band shell. "Devin! Is this safe for you?" She looked around nervously.

Devin glanced around and pulled his hood forward a bit. "It's nearly midnight, it's a new moon and there is no one else near us besides those over at the band shell. I will be able to sense another person's presence well before they can see me. It's safe."

Emily relaxed a bit at his assurance and pulled her hood up in imitation of him. As they walked along they talked about the bond that she had heard about and about the effects it had on the relationships his leonine relatives had with their mates. The conversation ended up centering around his parents and how they had been linked together from the time they first met at the age of ten.

Devin paused a moment looking alert, and then he drew her off the path to the edge of the wooded area. He drew her in close just as two couples came strolling around a corner. As Devin watched them stroll past, Emily was watching his face, barely visible beneath his hood. She saw a softness in his expression combined with a glitter of amusement in his eyes.

She got curious and as the two couples disappeared, she spoke. "What?"

He glanced down at her. "Huh?"

"What were you thinking . . . or is it what you were feeling?" She looked intently into his eyes.

He chuckled. "The lead couple happens to be very much in love." That softness that she had seen returned. "There is something so beautiful about that emotion when it is shared by two people. So few people ever get to experience that feeling yet I get to eavesdrop on it so often, especially among my family." He smiled at her and the amused humor returned to his eyes. "The girl in the second couple is so horny she can barely stand it and the guy she's with is very attracted to her but he's a bit shy and uncertain. I suspect he is going to get a lot more than he expects from his date before the night is over."

She glanced back in the direction the two couples had gone then back at him. "You could tell the difference between sexual desire and love?"

He smiled back at her. "They are very closely related but they are distinctly different emotions. The real magic is when the two emotions coincide. The combination can be . . . explosively beautiful."

As she pondered his words, they continued walking again. He started asking her about what she had been up to lately and she was soon telling him all about her travels since she was last in New York. He eagerly absorbed every detail she would tell him about the places she had been. Sometimes he would ask questions about some of those details. He was also fascinated by her tales of the various local people she met. He showed interest in the fact that she had taken a lot of pictures of her travels.

She realized that they were standing at the edge of the park across the street from her apartment. She glanced up at her building then before she had time to think about it she blurted out. "Would you like to come up to see the pictures I took?"

He looked at her for a moment then responded. "I think I would like that." He glanced around. "You go on ahead and I'll meet you on your balcony."

As she crossed the street she was mumbling to herself. "What am I doing . . . I might as well have asked him up to see my etchings . . . My place is a mess . . . He looks so, so . . . damn sexy . . . He must be aware of what I am feeling . . . I must be out of my mind . . . You've put your foot in it this time, Emily, you shameless tart . . . Oh, God, what will he be expecting?". . .

As soon as she entered her apartment, she hurried over to her balcony to find Devin waiting for her. She drew him into the apartment then retrieved her carry-on from the bedroom and started digging through it for her camera. While digging she pulled out then tossed her sketchbook onto the coffee table. Devin picked it up just as she came up with her camera.

Devin held up the sketchbook. "May I?" He asked.

Emily shrugged as she sat down on the sofa next to him. He flipped it open to a drawing of a couple sitting at a sidewalk café holding hands in the foreground, with the background dominated by the Eiffel Tower. The next picture was dominated by a camera on a tripod. In the background a group of women were being posed and primped by three others. The background was reproduced in miniature on the screen of the camera.

After a dozen drawings he came across a sketch of a caped and hooded figure before a circular opening. The face in the hood was shrouded in shadow but there were hints of eyes and a catlike mouth there. He looked at her. Emily realized that Devin's arm had ended up across her shoulders just as he came to her drawing of him. She shrugged at his silent inquiry then edged just a little closer to him. She was so very tired and the jet lag was catching up to her. The next picture was of the tower of London.

Devin felt the weight of Emily's head on his shoulder at the same time he felt her consciousness slipping away. He smiled to himself. He would have to put her to bed in just a minute but he couldn't seem to stop gazing at her beautiful drawings. Maybe just a couple more minutes.

~ x x x x x ~

Emily became aware of bright light filtering through her closed eyelids and she was in a half reclined position. Then she became aware of a weight across her shoulders and on her chest just above her left breast. She slowly opened her eyes to see that she was on her sofa and to her right side was Devin. Her sketch book was lying open on his lap with his right hand resting on top of it. She looked up to see his head drooping down with his chin resting on his chest, eyes closed.

A quick glance to her left shoulder confirmed that his hand was draped over it and resting just inches above her breast. She looked back at him and was watching his chest rise and fall when she was suddenly hit by the realization. It was daylight outside and Devin was in her apartment. This brought on a moment of panic and Devin stirred in his sleep. She reached over and gently shook his arm. "Devin?" Then his head came up and he opened his eyes looking around in surprise. His eyes finally came to rest on her.

Emily shook her head in dismay. "Devin, what are we going to do? It's daylight out."

Devin thought a moment. He knew that there was no tunnel access to this building (he had already checked) and they were surrounded by four very busy streets. He shrugged. "It seems that I'm stuck here until after dark."

"Oh, Devin, I'm so sorry. This must be terrible, being trapped Above like this."

Devin looked at her a moment, she was genuinely worried about him, and then replied. "It's not so bad . . . but I hate to put you out. You must have other plans for the day."

She glanced around at the mess currently presented by her apartment then shrugged while shaking her head. "Actually I had intended spending the day unpacking and getting this place organized."

Devin grinned back at her. "Well in that case, why don't I help you?" He paused frowning. "But first I should call someone and let them know that I'm safe. My father already knows approximately where I am." He glanced around. "May I use your phone?"

She looked at him in surprise. "You have phones down in the tunnels?"

He chuckled. "No, but we have helpers and most of them have phones and many of them have quick access to Below."

"Oh." She replied as she dug her cell phone from her purse and handed it to him.

He thought a moment then called someone named Aaron. He told Aaron that he was just fine and he would be spending the day helping Emily get moved into her apartment.

The rest of the morning was spent unpacking and organizing. The work went very quickly with Devin's help. She was amused to note that he never hesitated to make use of his very sharp claws as a handy cutting tool. His strength also came in very handy when she wanted to reposition some of the apartment's furnishings.

Devin turned out to be quite knowledgeable when it came to hooking up her audio/video system. Emily was amused at the way he kept referring to things as gizmo's whenever he couldn't immediately dredge up the correct technical term from memory. At one point she heard him muttering something about a mouse when he was trying to sort through the mass of wiring to figure out what cable went where.

By around noon they decided to order pizza for lunch. Devin turned out to have exactly the same tastes as Emily when it came to selecting pizza toppings. Devin retreated to one of the bedrooms while Emily accepted the pizzas from the delivery person. She set the pizzas on the table and, as Devin came out of the bedroom, she turned on her audio system that they had just finished setting up. She searched through the stations till she found one that played old classic pop songs, then she joined Devin at the cleared half of the dining table.

While they ate Emily pulled out her camera and they looked at the pictures she had taken. Devin laughed so hard he choked when they came to a twenty second video, another model had shot, of Emily's rather spectacular wipe-out during a surfing lesson in Hawaii. He was very impressed by her pictures of the Hong Kong lights at night. After they had finished off the meal and seen all the pictures they went back to work on the apartment.

_**Continued in Part 9**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	9. The Romance

**Model Beast  
**_By Thomas Mc_**  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 9 : The Romance**

Shortly after supper time all the boxes had been unpacked and the entire apartment arranged the way she wanted it. Emily looked around at her apartment. It would have taken her days to accomplish this on her own. She looked over at the balcony doors where Devin was now standing and staring out at the city, then went over to join him.

She stood next to him and gazed out at the view. "Thank-you for your help. It would have taken me forever without it."

"That's OK. I enjoyed helping you . . . and I got pizza for lunch and dinner in the bargain." He responded.

For a while they just stood there quietly gazing out at the city. Emily became aware that they were standing so close that their arms were touching. Then she felt his arm go around her sending a tingling up her spine. Then she felt something else stirring within her. There were emotions there that she knew were not her own. She looks up at him in surprise as he looked down at her just as surprised. She was sensing his feelings. The _warm gentle_ _desire_ she felt from him perfectly complimented the warm desire she had been feeling grow within herself over the last twelve hours. She looked down suddenly feeling very shy as his arm tightened around her.

Softly Devin spoke, the _wonder_ she could now feel coming from him, echoed in his voice. "That is the bond."

They turned to face each other as they each felt the others growing emotions. She felt drawn to him like they were two magnets. Almost without conscious volition they leaned in toward each other and their lips met. A delicious warmth spread through her and she could feel a similar reaction spreading through him. At the edge of her perceptions she heard the song that had begun playing on her audio system.

_" It's too late to turn back now.  
I believe, I believe, I believe  
I'm falling in love . . ."_

"Too right." She breathed softly as they parted and the song continued to play.

"Huh?" Devin responded as the refrain repeated.

The refrain came back around the third time and Emily began to sing along as comprehension dawned for Devin. Then as the songs final notes faded away her eyes grew wide as she gazed into his. "Oh, Devin. How can this ever work between us? Our lives are so totally incompatible. You could never live in my world and I don't know if I could really be happy for long in yours. The wanderlust has always been far too strong in me to ever settle in one place for very long."

Devin gazed into her eyes for a moment, then he shook his head. "No . . . I don't think you would be able to stay very long in my world. You really do enjoy the time you spend Below but you couldn't live there. Even New York is not big enough to contain you for long." He smiled and kissed her forehead. "You're a woman of the world and that is where you belong."

She pulled him close as he tightened his arms around her and again they kissed. For a while all considerations faded and the only thing that mattered was the feel of the kisses and their need to be close. Finally they again parted and gazed into each other's eyes. "Devin, how can this possibly work when I am always traveling around the world? You know what my life is like. We would have so little time together."

Devin smiled as he responded. "Our bond joins us together now. We will never be truly parted as long as we have this link, and every time you come home, I'll be here for you." He looked deeply into her eyes. "Whatever the difficulties, the love we have just found, and our bond, will see us through." He cocked his head. "I think this thing between us has been building for a while without our conscious knowledge. I know that I've been fascinated by you since that day I saw you being painted for that photo shoot at the castle." He paused a moment. "I know you were aware of my presence and I think it was your uninhibited attitude that first drew me in . . ." A devilish smile spread across his face. "That and your incredible beauty."

Emily found herself uncharacteristically blushing. The thought of other men seeing her nude body had never affected her like this, but with Devin it mattered. Finally she spoke again. "That is also a part of what I am. There are many pictures like that of me out there, including a few that are totally in the nude, and there will surely be more. Will that become a problem?"

Devin gazed at her as he thought about it for a moment, then he smiled. "Surprisingly, I find that it does not seem to bother me. What matters to me is how we feel about each other." He pulled her in and again they were kissing. They stood there together quietly holding each other close and occasionally kissing while watching the shadows lengthen until the light of day had disappeared. "Why don't you come below for the night? The chamber you stayed in is still available."

She thought a while. "That sounds fine to me. I'll meet you in the park?"

"See you there." He gave her a quick kiss then disappeared over the balcony wall.

Emily quickly made her way down to the lobby of the building where she ran into a problem. There were a half dozen people with cameras lounging just outside the front doors. She had already found the two emergency exits from this building. She turned on the charm and sweet talked the front desk guard into turning off the alarm just long enough for her to make her escape through the back emergency exit. She had just crossed the street and was about to enter the park when they spotted her and gave chase. She easily outran them and with the help of her dark cloak vanished into the more heavily wooded area.

She felt Devin's approach seconds before she saw him. "Devin, there's a problem . . ." She blurted out.

"I already know about your pursuers." He cut off what she was about to say. "You've lost them. Let's get below before they find us." He sensed the _worry_ and _turmoil_ growing within her as he led her the short distance to the culvert entrance.

"Devin, I'm worried." She remarked as he closed the hidden entrance. "I've just realized that my paparazzi problem could pose a very real danger to both you and the tunnels. All it would take is one of those idiots getting a picture of you or following me to this doorway to ruin everything." She shook her head. "I could never forgive myself if I were to bring harm to any of your family or to your wonderful tunnel community."

Devin felt her growing _despair_ and responded. "That can be easily dealt with. What do you have planned for tomorrow?"

She blinked as she mentally shifted gears. "I originally planned to unpack more boxes but that's already finished, thanks to you. I don't have to show up for work 'til day after tomorrow." She replied.

"We have direct tunnel access through many of the buildings around Manhattan. Tomorrow I'll show you several that are close to where you live. As long as you don't use any one of them too often, everything will be fine."

Devin led her to the dining chamber where they were able to forage a light bedtime snack. Then he escorted her to the chamber she had stayed in before, where he kissed her goodnight. She was soon falling asleep to the music of the tunnel pipes.

~ o ~

The next morning they met in the dining chamber for breakfast. "Good morning Devin." She greeted him cheerfully. "Did you have a good night?"

Devin smiled back. "I got a few pointed questions from my parents when I got to my chamber."

"Oh, no. What happened?" She asked a bit worriedly.

"Well they wanted to know just what had happened in your apartment. Then I told them that we were bonded and that pretty much ended any objections on their part." He grabbed her hand. "At that point they knew that the die had already been cast and it was up to us to try to work things out." He could almost hear her mind working, based on the flow of her emotions. "They don't blame you for our situation. They don't understand how we can possibly make this work and they worry that I might get hurt before this is settled. But they don't blame you." He kissed her hand, sending those now familiar tingles up her spine. "Personally I'm happy with the way things are turning out. Our time together may be very limited but people in the military often have it much worse. At least I don't have to worry about you getting shot at." He chuckled as he placed his hand over the area where her bullet wound scars were located. "Most of the time." He finished with a kiss that was curiously observed by the rest of those there for breakfast. "Now let's get something to eat.

~ o ~

After breakfast Devin led her to several places where she could gain access to the tunnels. At each place he introduced her to the helpers that were found there, and the helpers would take her outside so she could become familiar with the neighborhood. One of the buildings turned out to be the other apartment building on Central Park West that she had been considering when she first decided to move to New York. She was introduced to the three helpers and one family member that lived in that building. She was added to the list of guests with full access to the building. She was also shown how to work the Belvedere Castle access. They spent the evening exploring their bond and he taught her how to project emotions over the link.

~ x x x x x ~

**Fall 2035**

Emily listened closely as the director gave her instructions. Her short TV show stint had been so successful that they had asked her back. This time she was again playing herself and they had her basically recreating the incident of the bio-agent canisters. It was a two episode cliffhanger ratings gimmick and it had worked quite well last time. The first part ended with her unconscious body lying in the park as one of the terrorists was closing in on her location. The second part would start with the show's stars accompanied by two police officers showing up just in time to chase the terrorist away before he could finish her off. Not quite the way it had really happened, but then again, it was, after all, fiction.

Near the middle of the day they were shooting a new scene and she flubbed her line the first time through because she had picked-up extreme _humor_ from Devin and broke into a fit of the giggles. With some effort she got herself under control and was able to deliver her lines to the director's satisfaction. Later, after she had finished the scene and they were setting up for the next one, she was thinking that she really liked being able to feel Devin's presence, but it could sometimes cause problems.

~ x x x x x ~

A month later she was in Australia shooting a series of commercials and a music video for a currently popular pop music group. By now she had mastered the techniques of lobbing emotional bombs at Devin and of damping down her end of the link when she needed to concentrate on her work. When she was out exploring on her own she would open the link as wide as she could so that he could share in her joy of discovery. Everywhere she went, she took lots of pictures so that, when she returned to New York, she could share with him the images that had produced the emotions she had shared with him. Sometimes she would sketch out some scene that particularly caught her fancy or moved her emotionally.

Two weeks later she was in Egypt where the Sphinx and the Pyramids served as the background for an advertising campaign. The security was tight because of her very public involvement in foiling that terrorist plot against New York. There was one attempt on her life but they never got close and the only ones killed were the suicide bombers themselves.

A week and a half later she was back in Paris on another major fashion show.

~ x x x x x ~

Emily stepped off the plane on a cool early December morning. It had been a long tiring overnight flight from South Africa, where she had spent a hot sticky grueling week on the annual swimsuit edition. Yet her grin nearly split her face in half. She was back in New York and eager to get back to Devin. Last week she had called Elizabeth and told her that she would be in town 'til late January. Elizabeth was pleased and told her that Devin would be ecstatic.

As she exited the departure lounge, she was immediately surrounded by the media. She swept back the hood of her signature cloak and greeted them saying how glad she was to be back in her adopted home of New York. She sparred verbally with the reporters for a while before admitting that she was going to be doing another couple of episodes on the same TV show that she had already been on. She also admitted that she had been offered her own series based on a very old show called 'Moonlighting' but she had turned it down.

Finally she made her escape and headed into Manhattan. She had the cab driver drop her off at a small deli next to Central Park. Fifteen minutes later she was in Devin's arms. "Welcome home, Emily." Then he kissed her very thoroughly.

"Mmmm. It's good to be home." She replied after they broke.

They headed to the central tunnels as she told him about her latest travels. Soon they were in the dining chamber where most of the residents stopped by to welcome her back while she ate a late breakfast. Then Devin took her to what had become 'her' chamber so that she could get some rest.

~ x x x x x ~

Emily stared around at the great hall in undisguised wonder. This was her first Winterfest and she was overwhelmed by the experience. They had just finished clearing the central area of the chamber and Devin drew her out to the dance floor. The tunnel musicians launched into a waltz. Emily reveled in the new sensation of dancing in Devin's arms. It was a feeling that she did not think she could ever tire of.

The next dance was a slow romantic tune. Devin pulled her in close and she laid her head on his shoulder soaking up the warmth of his body and the _love_ radiating from his heart. After a moment she spoke. "Devin?"

"Humm." He responded.

"Do you think it's possible, with our incompatible lives, we could ever make a go of a more permanent relationship?"

"What type of more permanent relationship?" She could feel a hint of _amusement_ mixed with a dash of _curiosity _and_ anticipation_ from him

"Well, you know, like marriage . . . or something like that." She replied, a little bit of a flush growing in her cheeks.

There was a long pause as the _anticipation_ got a little stronger along with the beginnings of _hope _and_ desire_ before he finally responded. "I don't know how successful it would turn out to be . . . but it would be a blast finding out." He felt her heart leap at his response and felt his own heart respond in kind as he held his breath in anticipation.

Emily lifted her head from his shoulder and looked into his eyes. "Devin, will you marry me?"

They stopped dancing as they gazed into each others eyes. "I would love to marry you, Emily." He grinned wide enough to clearly display his fangs. Then they were kissing in the middle of the dance floor, oblivious of the others around them. Those around them quickly became aware of what was happening and there were smiles and giggles all around. Then they finally broke from their kiss. "Everybody." Devin announced loudly. "Emily and I are officially engaged." The announcement was greeted by surprise and cheers as they moved off to the side.

A pretty young strawberry blond that Emily had not seen before came up to congratulate them and Devin gave her a big hug. "So you are finally leaving me for another woman." She smacked him on his chest. Then faced Emily. "You know I was engaged to him first." She stated matter-of-factly as she grinned back at Emily.

Emily raised her eyebrows as she looked quizzically at Devin. She could clearly feel his _amusement_.

"I was eleven and she was five." He remarked. "She left me shortly afterwards for Perry, then it was Peter, then it was, ah, Charles. He was already taken so she moved on to Henry. She was a very fickle five-year-old." He gave the girl another hug. "Emily this is Cherry. She was born and raised in the tunnels and last year she abandoned us to make a life Above."

"Glad to meet you, Cherry." Emily greeted her.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, too." Cherry responded.

"So how are things going for you Above?" Emily asked.

Cherry grinned. "I've been taken on by the taxi company as a dispatcher and I'm training to become a driver."

Another lion-man, named Peter, came up and claimed Cherry for the next dance. As they moved away, Devin chuckled. "I think Cherry and Peter have become a little sweet each other lately." He put his arm around Emily's waist. "Let's dance." And they moved back onto the dance floor as he drew her in close for a slow dance. With a shiver of delight Emily melted against him.

_**Continued in Part 10**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	10. The Concept

**Model Beast  
**_By Thomas Mc_**  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 10 : The Concept**

**March 2036**

Emily walked out of the theater, into what passed for a London spring, smiling. The live action remake of Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast' had been everything the hype had made it out to be. The movie had been out for nearly three weeks now and was already becoming a cultural phenomenon. She had gotten a free afternoon and taken advantage of the lull in her schedule to see the movie.

Emily was startled out of her pleasant mood by the crowd of paparazzi that began closing in on her. Danny, her ever-present bodyguard took her elbow and guided her through the increasingly insistent people, to the car that was waiting for her. She had even gone out more or less anonymously without her signature cloak and still they had found her.

Tomorrow she would be heading over to Ireland for another advertising gig then next Friday she had been invited to attend the premiere of 'The Hidden Kingdom', based on the first book of Brigit O'Donnell's 'Hidden Kingdom Trilogy'. Rumor had it that they had already started work on 'Children Of The Hidden Kingdom' and were in contract negotiations for 'Return to The Hidden Kingdom'. Emily had read all three books shortly after meeting Devin and fallen in love with them.

Once back at the hotel Emily and Danny retired to the lounge to relax and shoot the breeze. They had been watching a soccer game on the video when Danny commented. "So, I see the media hasn't yet twigged onto your boyfriend."

She looked over at him in surprise. "What?"

"Your New York boyfriend." He responded with a grin.

"Where did you get an idea like that?" She inquired a bit nervously.

"It's logical, at least to me." He replied. "I have lots of friends in the personal security industry and I come from New York. Whenever you are in New York, you often go out without security escort. Also you seem to be in a more upbeat mood right after a stop in New York. To me, that suggests a New York romance connection. The fact that the media hasn't caught on suggests that it might be serious enough for you to want to keep it quiet." He sat there staring back at her with a large self-satisfied grin.

After a second she responded. "OK, you've got me. But if you tell anyone, I'll have to shoot you." She grinned.

"So, how serious is it?" He asked.

"Very." She replied.

"Well I wish good luck to both of you." He responded.

"Thank you." After a minute she finally asked. "So if you grew up in New York, how did you end up working overseas security?"

Danny shrugged. "I have always had a talent for languages and my rather unique upbringing gave me a chance to experience a lot of different cultures. That made me very valuable when it came to helping celebrities get around in foreign countries." Then his attention shifted and he was cheering as one of the teams made a score.

Emily was left wondering just how familiar he was with New York urban legends.

~ x x x x x ~

Emily was enthralled by the beautiful green Irish countryside. Most of yesterday had been spent doing photo shoots using that countryside for background. Most of today had been spent touring that same area with her faithful security guard, Danny. He told her that this was his first time in Ireland and he was enjoying the tour as much as she was.

Her tour had included the house just outside of Dublin where Brigit O'Donnell had lived. Two items in the carefully preserved house drew her attention. One was a photograph of Brigit and two other pretty women. One of the other women she recognized as a young Catherine Chandler. She didn't know who the other woman was. The other item was a painting of Brigit. In the lower left corner was the artist's signature, '**_Vincent _**'.

"You know legend has it that Brigit O'Donnell actually encountered the Creature of Central Park one Halloween night." Danny remarked as he gazed at a framed map of Central Park that was hung next to the painting.

"What?" She responded, startled by his comment.

"One of New York's more interesting urban legends." He replied. "Kinda like Bigfoot only supposed to be half man - half lion and tends to hang around the Central Park area. You ever heard of him?"

Emily grinned secretly to herself. "Yea, I've heard stories."

"My grandmother used to swear that the creature was real." Danny laughed. "She really believed those stories."

The curator of the place noticed her interest in the painting and came up to stand beside Emily and commented. "You know, no one has ever been able to figure out who the artist was that painted that portrait. We've had it examined by several art experts and they have all come up empty." She glanced at Emily. "We know it was painted in Central Park just before the turn of the century. The age of the paint puts it around 98 or 99 and that building in the background is the Belvedere Castle. The odd thing is that particles of rock dust and a type of mold that only grows below ground, were both found embedded in the paint." She shook her head. "The mystery of its origin and the identity of the artist have been the subject of much debate."

Emily couldn't help laughing as she realized that she knew the answers to the questions that the scholars had been debating. Danny and the curator both looked at her curiously.

~ x x x x x ~

Emily was picked up by the limo and taken to the staging area where she met up with two other top models, Jessica and Heidi, along with the three top fashion designers that were to escort them to the premiere of 'The Hidden Kingdom'. Danny was there with four other security guards waiting for them.

"Emily, honey, you will be escorted by Pierre." She was told by the studio flack that was handling the publicity. Then he frowned at her. "Where is your cape?" He looked annoyed. "You must wear your cape. The advertising department insisted on it. It matches the one worn by the Beast. Why do you think the studio insisted on inviting you to this premiere?"

"It's in the limo." She responded.

"Well go get it." He insisted. "Hurry up; you're due to arrive in fifteen minutes."

Once she had retrieved her cloak the three models and their escorts were hustled into another limo. Then they drove around the block and slipped into a line of limos. It took them about fifteen minutes to go the hundred feet to the front of the theater. As they exited the limo, onto the red carpet, Danny and their security detail was there waiting for them.

Of the three models, Emily definitely drew the most attention.

The interviewer pressed her. "Every one is asking the same question, Emily. Where did you get your signature cape?"

This was not the first time that question had come up and she responded with what had become her stock answer. "This was given to me by a friend the first time I visited New York."

When the interviewer could get no more out of her on that subject, she moved on to other subjects. Then after a few more questions she and her escort headed into the theater. Pierre happened to be one of her favorite fashion designers so she enjoyed his company. It turned out that he was here because he had also designed most of the costumes for the movie.

~ o ~

One of the first things she noticed during the show was that the Beast in the movie looked a lot like Devin's family. The hooded cloak that the beast wore was almost identical to hers. Pierre admitted that he had based the beast's cloak on hers.

The movie was very good and Emily thoroughly enjoyed it. After the movie, Jessica and Heidi both gushed endlessly about how much they would like to find a Beast of their own like the one in the movie. Emily merely smiled.

~ x x x x x ~

By the end of April, Emily was back in New York. Both movies and the Brigit O'Donnell books had become a major pop culture phenomenon. Everywhere Emily looked she saw evidence of the Beauty and the Beast influence.

While Below Emily told them about what she had seen and heard while in Dublin. Vincent told her the story of how he first met Brigit. That peaked her interest and soon she was listening to other tales about Catherine and Vincent's Halloween excursions.

The next day she found a voice mail message from Pierre (he was one of the few that had her private number) asking her to call him back. She checked the time difference and, deciding it was still early enough, dialed the number Pierre had left her.

"Hello Pierre. It's Emily. I got your message."

"Emily great to hear from you. I have begun work on my new spring line and I was hoping you would be available when I announce it this fall."

"I might be. Can you give me any details?"

"This Beauty and the Beast thing is so big right now and I'm planning to base a lot of my new line on those two movies, particularly the one from Brigit O'Donnell's books. It will also tie in nicely with the two upcoming movies as well. I hope to announce the line with a fashion show late in October. I still need to work out the details on when, where and how."

"That sounds fine." She paused a moment in thought. "I just had an idea. You remember the wedding scene from the 'The Hidden Kingdom'?"

"Yes, a lot of the pieces in my new line are offshoots from my designs for that movie."

"Why not build your fashion show around that scene? Use the wedding dress you designed for the movie. It will certainly give a kind of authenticity to your clothes that the other designers can't claim."

"You know, that is an intriguing idea. I'll think about it. You will be part of it?"

"I'll do my best to be available." She thought a moment then continued. "Can you give me a better idea of when you will be holding it?"

"Some time in late 0ctober, probably the last week of the month."

"I'll keep that time frame open for you."

~ x x x x x ~

Around midnight Emily and Devin were walking through the park discussing when and where they were going to have their wedding.

Emily was gazing across the way at Belvedere Castle when an idea struck her. "Devin, you remember those stories Catherine and Vincent told us about the Halloweens they spent Above?"

Devin nodded, sensing _enthusiasm_ bubbling up inside her and wondering where she was heading with this.

"It occurred to me that with all the Beauty and the Beast hoopla we might just be able to pull off a wedding in the park on Halloween. We could hold it in broad daylight and no one would give us more than a passing glance of interest."

Devin thought about this for a while then replied. "I know about your dreams of a wedding in the park and it sounds reasonable, but you are a well known celebrity and everyone will want to know who you are marrying. It could lead to awkward questions." He paused. "As much as I love the idea, I don't think there is any way we can make it work without generating too much unwanted interest in us."

Her enthusiasm for the concept was deflated by the unfortunate logic of his assessment. They walked on a bit and Emily continued to mull the possibilities over in her mind. Then she thought about her conversation with Pierre and the germ of an idea occurred to her as they walked past the castle.

Devin sensed the sudden shift in her mood. "What's got you so excited now?" He asked.

She glanced up and smiled, her eyes alight with mischief. "Just a thought I had. What if we could pull off a fancy public wedding in the park and still have the people around us think that it was just part of a show rather than a real wedding."

He stared back at her, one eyebrow quirked in disbelief. "That would be quite a trick if you could pull it off. It would certainly be interesting." He paused to think a bit. "I would love it if we could do it."

"Give me a couple of weeks to see if I can pull this together."

~ x x x x x ~

After several days of talking to various contacts in the business, Emily had confirmed her suspicions that several designers were thinking of incorporating some type of Beauty and the Beast motif in their new lines. Now all she had to do was figure out a way that she could use that information in formulating a plan to pull off a wedding in the park.

That evening after considering several possibilities, she called her favorite designer. "Pierre? It's Emily. I was thinking about your spring line, and I've heard that several of the other top designers have come up with the same concept."

"Yes, I've heard the same thing. That's why I have been trying to find a way to stand out from the crowd. I liked your idea of restaging the wedding scene, making it the centerpiece of my fashion show."

She took a deep breath and plunged in. "Suppose you held your fashion show in Central Park near Belvedere Castle. I heard that it was the inspiration for the Castle in Brigit's book." She paused again. This was the most critical part of her plan. "Invite the attendees to show up in costume and you could recreate the wedding scene for the climax of the show. You could even have the male models made-up to look like the Beast. That would certainly make you stand out as well as highlighting your designs for the movie." She crossed her fingers and held her breath as she waited for his response.

After several seconds of silence Pierre finally responded. "That is a very good idea. If I decide to do it, I want you to do the bride for the wedding scene."

YES! She took a moment to control her excitement. "I would love to do it. I also know a local person that can do very realistic lion-man makeup for the Beast."

"That sounds promising; I'll get back with you next month and see what can be worked out. Good luck, Emily and I'll talk to you later."

"Same to you, Pierre. Bye."

Emily was practically dancing after she hung up. She ran out of the apartment and headed straight into the park to deliver the news to Devin. Now all she needed to do was figure out how to slip Devin into the show at the right moment.

Devin was waiting at the storm drain entrance, anxious to find out what she was so excited about.

Two days later she was on her way to South America, her mind full of ideas, schemes and plans.

_**Continued in Part 11**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	11. The Parents

**Model Beast  
**_By Thomas Mc_**  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 11 : The Parents**

**May 2036**

Emily was going to be in New York for almost a month and her parents had flown up to visit her for a week – a week that could be critical to her future with Devin. She just hoped that they would be able to handle everything she was about to expose them to. She shook her head; throw at them would be more accurate. She waved to her parents as they came off the plane into the arrival lounge. She called out to them. "Mom, Dad." They came over to her and there was a round of hugs. Then she led them to the luggage area.

As they exited the terminal Emily led them past a line of taxi's and stopped at the last one in the line. The driver, a young pretty female with fiery strawberry blond hair, jumped out and helped them load their luggage into the trunk. Then they piled into the cab. By now it was close to sundown and the sky was rapidly growing dark. "Where to, Emily?" The driver asked.

"Take us to the park, Cherry, you know where." Emily told her.

"Sure thing. You want me to drop the luggage off at your apartment after I drop you off?" Cherry asked.

"That would be great." Emily noticed her parents, watching her conversation with interest. "Mom, Dad, this is Cherry, aaaahhh . . ." She glanced at the ID card by the meter. "Kelly?" She chuckled. "I never heard your last name used before."

Cherry also laughed. "Comes with the territory. You know how it is where I was raised."

"Cherry, these are my parents, Barbara and Jim Hansen." Emily continued.

"Nice to meet you." Cherry responded.

"Same here." Jim replied.

For a while Emily and her parents exchanged family gossip. Then as they entered Central Park, Emily suddenly changed the subject. "Mom, Dad. You remember the last time I was home, we talked about what happened to me in the park and I told you that it was the Creature of Central Park that found me?"

Both of her parents glanced nervously at Cherry, who had started to chuckle, then they looked back at their daughter. Her father reluctantly responded. "We remember." He glanced again at the driver and could see a sparkle of amusement in her eyes reflected in the rear view mirror.

"Here we are folks." Cherry announced as she pulled over.

Emily opened the door. "I know that you still doubt what I've told you about that day and I don't really blame you." As they got out of the cab, Jim noticed that the cab's meter had not been turned on. "I have learned a few interesting things since then." She closed the door.

Cherry lowered her driver's side window. "I'll drop the luggage off at your apartment."

"Thanks Cherry." She waved as the cab pulled away then turned to face her parents who were looking at her curiously wondering where this was going. "First off, Vincent, the one that found me when I was four, is Devin's grandfather, and they really do look like they are half lion."

Emily led them away from the road towards what looked like a heavily wooded area. She could feel Devin's approach. Her parents both realized that it was getting dark and they appeared to be in a rather isolated section of the park. Then her father noticed a large hooded figure that stepped out from the shadows at the edge of the woods. Emily was apparently leading them straight toward that tall dark figure.

Emily continued speaking. "I brought you here to meet Devin." She paused and looked into her father's eyes. "All I ask is that you keep an open mind and remember that despite his appearance, Devin is really a very kind and gentle person."

As they approached, the figure pulled back his hood and his leonine features could clearly be seen in the last rosy light of the setting sun. Emily's mother gasped and her father mumbled something unintelligible under his breath. They had both stopped in their tracks as they stared at the impossible apparition before them. Barbara reached out for the reassurance of her husband's hand. He felt his wife's hand steal into his and closed his fingers over hers. The creature their daughter had called Devin was standing about twenty-five feet away, big as life and undeniably real. Up until this moment Jim had accepted his daughter's word but had assumed that there was some sort of misunderstanding or hyperbole involved in the half-lion description. This was not a delusion, exaggeration or misinterpreted sight. This lion-man creature was **real**.

Emily moved over to the creature and took his '**clawed!**' hand then started drawing it towards them. Jim felt his wife's hand tighten around his. He squeezed her hand in response. That creature was huge. Jim had become used to his six foot daughter being taller than everyone else yet that creature was at least a half foot taller than her and so powerfully built that he made even Emily look small by comparison. Emily stopped ten feet from her parents. "Mom, Dad, this is Devin."

"It is a pleasure to meet you both." The voice of the creature was a revelation. It echoed a strength and power to match his appearance but there was an equal element of gentle compassion to it. The voice seemed to command respect. Barbara felt a chill sweep up her spine as his voice seemed to touch something deep inside her. Not since her husband had another male voice produced such a profound effect on her.

Emily watched the emotions play across her parent's faces. She was also getting an echo of what Devin was sensing in them and passing on through their bond. She smiled and remarked, "You've got to admit, he is pretty impressive."

Finally Jim recovered and moved closer drawing a slightly reluctant Barbara with him. As they stood about five feet apart he continued to gaze at Devin. "Amazing." He remarked shaking his head. "I never would have believed it."

Devin suddenly became tense and Emily looked at him, sensing his sudden _alertness_. "What is it?"

"There are other's coming this way and I do not think they are the type you would want to meet." Devin replied as he pulled his hood up to cover his face. "I think it is time for us to relocate."

Following Devin's lead they all moved deeper into the wooded area until they were all hidden in the shadows. About a minute later three very disreputable teenagers came into view, laughing and spouting some very rough language. The three toughs were nearly past their location when there was a momentary lull in their crude dialog. Barbara shifted her weight and the sound of a snapping twig was clearly heard. All three of the toughs stopped and looked in their direction.

"Stay back in the shadows." Devin remarked quietly. Then he stepped out of the shadow. The three toughs took a few threatening steps forward, then Devin emitted a menacing growl. The toughs hesitated looking at each other. Two of them pulled knives and they took another step forward. Devin took three quick steps toward them and, with his claws clearly displayed, cut loose with a roar that made Barbara nearly jump out of her skin. All three toughs squawked in fear and bolted.

Emily started laughing as the three toughs ran out of sight. "That was priceless." She commented. "That will certainly help perpetuate the Creature of Central Park legend." Jim noticed that Devin was also laughing as he came back towards them.

When Devin was again standing beside Emily he remarked. "Emily, it's getting late and your parents have a lot of new concepts to process." He glanced out at the park for a moment. "Maybe I should escort you and your parents to your home."

Emily glanced at her parent's and nodded. "You're probably right. Let's get going."

They all started off towards her apartment with Devin in the lead. It took a little over fifteen minutes to walk to the edge of the park across the street from her apartment building. Devin stopped at the edge of the woods just inside the park and faced them. "This is as far as I can take you." He glanced at the several odd people that could be seen lounging outside her building

Emily gave him a quick hug then led her parents across a still busy Central Park West and bulled her way through the insistent paparazzi, getting them safely into her building. "One of the drawbacks of my profession, sorry." She apologized once inside the building, nodding at the noisy group outside. In her apartment, her parents found their luggage neatly arranged along the wall in the second bedroom.

Her father looked at his daughter curiously. "They let that cab driver into your apartment?"

Emily smiled. "She has been over here a couple of times. The front desk guard knows that she is allowed up here and she has a key to this apartment just incase of emergency." Emily responded. "Devin introduced me to her."

"So there are others that know about them?" Jim inquired.

"Oh yes, there are several people that know about Devin and his family. They all help keep them safe and hidden."

"How many are there like Devin?" He asked curiously.

She thought a moment before she responded. "Lets see." She raised her fingers as she started counting them off. "Vincent, Jacob, Charles, Devin, Michael, Peter, William, Joseph . . . There are eight of them. There have only been three generations of them so far. They tell me that Vincent was the first of their kind."

It was getting pretty late and her parents were both tired so they got changed and went to bed. Jim and Barbara lay sleepless for a long time quietly talking about what they had seen and heard. Finally they drifted off to sleep.

~ o ~

Jim woke up the next morning with his mind still swirling with questions and speculation about the creature they had met last night. He thought about the very frightening aspects of what he had seen and heard when those three thugs that had run off in fear. He did not think he would have been able to hold his ground if faced, unexpectedly, with that roar combined with those claws on that massive creature. Thinking about it still made him shiver. He tried to reconcile that with the intelligent, cultured speech he had heard come from that frightful being. Then he thought about the fact that there were apparently seven other creatures like it, Emily had said that it was the grandfather of that creature they met last night, that had found her and brought her back to him twenty years ago. There was no way he could ever adequately thank that other creature for the safe return of his daughter back then.

Barbara stretched and yawned then opened her eyes to look at her husband. "Did we really meet The Creature of Central Park last night?"

"So it seems." He replied. "At least one of them."

They heard the sound of their daughter talking in the other room as they got out of bed. Twenty minutes later they were in the living room.

"Good morning." She greeted them.

"Good morning to you, Dear." Barbara responded.

"We heard you talking to someone a little while ago." Jim commented.

"That was District Attorney Elizabeth Maxwell. We have been invited over to her place for lunch." Emily replied. "You will get to meet some more of Devin's family there."

"The District Attorney knows about them?" Her father asked incredulously.

Emily laughed. "You could say that." She chuckled again. "Her place is just about a mile up the road. If you don't mind the walk, we can avoid the hassle of getting a taxi. Hopefully the paparazzi won't be out this early."

~ o ~

Emily led her parents up the steps of the elegant brownstone where they were met at the door by Elizabeth. In the parlor Barbara saw a white haired woman that she recognized from the articles in her society magazines as Catherine Chandler. She was now officially very impressed. Catherine had dropped out of sight a few years back after retiring from public life.

Then two lion-men came out from an open doorway behind the great spiral staircase. Jim and Barbara gazed at them both in stunned amazement. They were both incredibly impressive, especially in the well lighted parlor. One of them had fur as white as Catherine's hair. The other one's fur was wheat gold and they both had startlingly deep blue eyes. The white furred lion-man sat down next to Catherine who apparently welcomed his close presence.

Elizabeth began the introductions. "Mr. and Mrs. Hansen, May I introduce Vincent and Catherine Chandler-Wells."

There was a moment's pause, then both of Emily's parents' eyes went wide with surprise. Finally Jim blurted out. "Chandler-Wells?"

Vincent nodded once as Catherine spoke up. "Vincent and I have been married for forty-six years."

Emily spoke up at this point. "Daddy, Vincent is the one I told you about that found me in that storm drain and brought me back to where they found me."

Jim remembered his daughter mentioning Vincent's name to him before as he gazed at the creature/person that he realized he owed so much for the return of his only child all those years ago. "I, a, I can't tell you how much we both appreciate what you did for us and Emily that night."

Vincent nodded politely to Jim. "Think nothing of it. I'm just glad that I happened to be in the right place when she needed help." Jim and Barbara noticed that Vincent's voice had the same unique qualities that they had both noticed in Devin's voice.

Elizabeth indicated the other lion-man that had come to stand beside her as she continued. "This is my husband Charles Chandler-Wells. Charles is Vincent and Catherine's younger son. We've been married twenty-one years and we have four children." Elizabeth's face practically radiated pride as she put her arm around his waist.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Charles responded, his arm going around Elizabeth's waist.

There was the sound of a door opening and closing, and a few seconds later another lion-man entered with his arm around the waist of a pretty redheaded woman. She was smiling and, like the other two women, apparently welcomed the close contact with her leonine companion. "Sorry we're late." The redheaded woman remarked.

"This is Jacob Chandler-Wells, our oldest son, and his wife Linda." Catherine told them. "Devin is their oldest son."

A pretty blond teenaged woman came down the stairs at this point. "Mother have you seen my US Government book?"

"It's on the kitchen table where you left it Dear." Elizabeth responded with a hint of amusement then returned her attention to Emily's parents. "This is our daughter Clarissa. Clarissa, this is Emily's parents, Jim and Barbara."

"Nice to meet you." She nodded to them on her way through the doorway behind the spiral stairs.

"Same here." Jim responded more or less to her back.

They all sat down and in the parlor as Clarissa headed back upstairs with her book. Vincent told Jim and Barbara a little bit about his history, then Catherine told them how she and Vincent met. Barbara knew what the society columns and celebrity magazines had printed about Catherine and was fascinated by the other side of the story. Barbara had finally begun to feel at ease among these strange and fantastic creatures. She had also noticed how easy it was to become used to the appearance of the Chandler-Wells males. With that unique voice they all shared and the rather magnificent quality to their leonine faces, Barbara thought she could understand how these beautiful women could fall for them.

Devin came from somewhere in the back and joined them in the parlor just as Jacob was telling about how he and Linda met in the destruction of the 9/11 terrorist attack. Then Elizabeth told about how she and Charles practically grew up together. Emily told her parents about their empathic ability and this in turn led to a discussion of the bond that each of the couples shared. Jim found the revelation of their empathic sense and the bond fascinating and just a bit disquieting. Barbara found the bond to be particularly intriguing and wanted to know more. She thought there was something so romantic about the whole idea.

During a lull in the conversation Jim finally had to speak his mind. "This is all remarkable and I have found it fascinating, learning about your history, but I have to ask, why we are being let in on all this? Surly this huge secret of your existence is not something you tell others on a whim." He stared pointedly at Emily, seated next to Devin.

Emily glanced quickly at Devin then responded. "Daddy, Mom, the reason you are being introduced to Devin's family is because, in the near future, I will become part of this family." She glanced again at Devin then. "Devin and I are engaged."

Barbara's jaw dropped as she stared at her daughter. Jim nodded. Over the last hour he had been noticing his daughter and Devin as they sat together, and had begun to suspect something like this. The way that they looked at each other had not gone unnoticed by him. Though still just a bit unsure about the whole thing he suspected that the decision was out of his and Barbara's hands. "I suppose that means congratulations are in order." He squeezed Barbara's hand as it again crept into his. "And, ah, what about this bond we have been discussing?"

Emily took Devin's hand, smiled at him then looked back at her parents. "Devin and I have been linked, bonded, whatever you call it, since last summer." A smile lit up her face. "You can not begin to imagine how wonderful it is to feel his presence each day, no matter how far away I am from New York. I can be on the other side of the planet and still feel him and his love as strongly as I can feel it right now." By now her eyes were gleaming brightly enough to light up the whole room which her father did not fail to notice.

Her father cocked his head as he took in his daughter's obvious happiness. "And physically?" he asked uncertainly.

Emily glanced again at Devin, a slight flush appearing on her face. "Not yet." She swept her hand around the room indicating the rest of Devin's family. "But we have ample proof that there will be no problems in that department." I have been told that any daughters we have will be totally," She glanced at Devin and shrugged. "normal? . . . and any sons we have will be like Devin." She again smiled at Devin leaning into him. "Personally, I'm kinda leaning towards wanting boys."

Vincent spoke up at this point. "Devin will be the first of our grandsons to be married. A kind of milestone in our family." He glanced over at the young couple. "It will be a very unusual relationship, even for one of us. They both say that they have no plans to alter their very disparate lifestyles." He shook his head. "I'm not sure how well such a relationship will function, but we all like Emily and we hope they can make it work."

Barbara finally shook off her initial shock as she gazed at her daughter. "Honey, I hope you know what you're doing and if this is what you want I hope you are very happy." She leaned against her husband. "I think I am beginning to understand what you see in Devin."

Emily added. "With the bond we share, we will always be together no matter where we might be physically." Her manner made it plain that she was particularly pleased with this aspect.

Jim and Barbara were awake very late again that night discussing their daughter's plans and how they felt about them.

~ x x x x x ~

The next day at Emily's apartment, Barbara glanced down at the sketch her daughter was working on. "That is such a lovely drawing, Emily. Is it something special?"

Emily looked up. "It's just some ideas that I've been working on. It's sort of a concept drawing for a wedding in the park." The drawing was a rose covered arbor with trees and a castle in the background and a petal strewn path leading up to it.

"Are you talking about 'your' wedding, honey?" Barbara knew something of her daughter's childhood wedding fantasies.

"It's just a kind of daydream, but, you know, I've always been a bit of a dreamer." Emily looked back down at her drawing with a sigh. "I've always dreamed of a fairy tale wedding in front of a castle."

"I know, honey. Ever since you were a little girl, you've been turning your dreams into drawings . . . and I've seen them many times." Barbara sat down beside her daughter. "Have you done any drawings of Devin?"

Emily flipped back two pages to a drawing of Devin and herself from the waist up, holding hands, and facing each other. Arching over them was a rather nebulous representation of the arbor that she had just been sketching. Then she flipped back a few more pages to a sketch of eight leonine faces arranged on the page. In the center was Vincent surrounded by seven others.

"OK, I recognize Devin, Vincent, Jacob and Charles." Barbara pointed to the ones she named. "Who are the rest?"

Emily pointed to the others. "That's Peter, William, and Joseph. They're Charles and Elizabeth's sons. That taxi driver, Cherry, is currently a bit sweet on Peter. This one is Devin's brother Michael." She smiled at her mother. "That's the lot of them for now, but I hope to some day add my own little contribution to that group. I will be the first outsider to join Vincent's family and the first wedding in the third generation." She grinned. "Who knows? Possibly my first son will be the first member of the fourth generation." She shrugged.

_**Continued in Part 12**_

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'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	12. The Planning

**Model Beast  
**_By Thomas Mc_**  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 12 : The Planning**

**July 2036**

Emily was once again back in New York after a couple of weeks in Fiji. She got a call from Pierre, the day after she got in, asking her to meet him at a local high end restaurant for lunch. Pierre greeted her and, after ordering lunch, he told her that he was in town talking to his American distributors about his new spring line, and getting things set up for the new line's introduction. They got down to discussing the fashion show that he was planning for the end of October.

"I got all the permits and the equipment lined up for the show and I got it set on Halloween like you suggested. I really liked that part of it, getting everyone to show up in costume. I even got permission to use Belvedere Castle. It will make an excellent background and we can set up the changing stations inside the castle."

"That's great, Pierre." Emily responded to him. Inside she felt like fireworks going off. "That's exactly what we did for the swimsuit issue two years ago. The basement is perfect for that." Everything was falling into place like dominoes.

"I decided that I'm going to do the magazine shoot at the same time, during the fashion show." He paused and frowned. "The only thing I haven't done yet is secure the rights to the book for the show's wedding finale. I think the Wells-Chandler Foundation currently controls the copyright to those books."

"No problem." Emily jumped in. "I have a friend who can arrange that for you." She was sure that Charles could get the rights from the Wells-Chandler Foundation since it would allow them to stage their wedding in Central Park like they hoped.

"What about that makeup artist you mentioned?" Pierre inquired, "Is he going to be available to do the Beast makeup?"

"I've already got him lined up and I also have a few local boys that can do the part of the Beast if you need them." She hoped she could get him to accept her 'local boys' for the shoot. This was one of the critical parts of her plan.

Pierre thought about it a minute. "I really haven't gotten to that point yet. If you have some good candidates, I will be happy to consider them. Do they have any modeling experience?"

"Not really but they are very quick studies and they already have the movement and look that I think you want."

"I'll see how things develop between now and then. The males will have to be pretty tall, especially the one that is paired with you in the finale."

~ x x x x x ~

The next day Emily called up her agent. "Marty, I need a really, really big favor from you."

"Sure thing, Hon. What do you want?"

"I need you to somehow arrange for all of the top male models to get lucrative gigs during the last week of October. I know that you represent many of them and have connections to the other's agents. The only thing is, you can't send any of them to Pierre, and I don't want my name associated with any of this."

"I already have a large number of my people booked for that time. That's when the spring lines are introduced. What are you up to, girl? Does this have anything to do with Pierre's spring line show on Halloween?"

"It's a secret. I can't really tell you why I need this, but it is very important to me and I can assure you that it won't have a negative affect Pierre's show."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks, Marty. I really appreciate this."

She hung up the phone. Martin was a very good agent and she had no doubt about his ability to accomplish what she asked of him. He was also a very inquisitive person. She would probably have to spend the next few months fending off his curiosity about the reason for her request.

~ x x x x x ~

It was late August and Emily was again in France, doing a shoot in the wine country, when she got a call from Pierre.

"Emily honey, I've run into a snag and I hope you can still help."

Emily crossed her fingers. "Sure, Pierre, I'll do whatever I can."

"All the best male models are engaged during Halloween. It looks like I'm going to have to use those men that you mentioned when we last talked. I hope you know that I'm putting a lot of faith in you with this."

Emily fought the desire to squeal with glee. "I understand. The men I mentioned are still available and I'm sure you won't be disappointed."

"What about the fit. I won't be able to get back to New York in time to get them properly fitted."

"I'll get that information to you. I'll tell you up front, the men I have in mind are all about six and a half feet tall and well built. I'll try to get their specific dimensions to you as soon as I can. Also I know a couple of tailors that can make any necessary alterations. They're very good and discrete so your designs will be safe."

"Thank-you Emily. You are a lifesaver." There was a definite sound of relief in Pierre's voice.

"Think nothing of it, Pierre." Emily was nearly dancing with glee as she hung up. All the pieces were falling into place.

~ x x x x x ~

A few weeks later Emily was back over at the brownstone talking to Devin's brother, Michael and his cousins, Peter William and Joseph.

"Pierre likes the idea of doing the Fashion show next to Belvedere Castle on Halloween and having the male models made up to look like the beast from Brigit's books. This means that all of you will be able to be there for the wedding that will occur at the end of the fashion show." She swept them all with her gaze. "With your natural grace you will all be able to pull off the ruse as male models with no effort. The job itself will mostly consist of walking up and down the runway wearing the clothes from his new line." She smiled at them. "From the way Pierre described his new line, you guys will look fantastic."

"How many males will you be needing for this?" Jacob asked.

"The last time I talked to him, Pierre said that he has six other top models lined up as well as me. So that means he will need all of you, including you and Charles."

Charles spoke up. "He is going to expect to pay salaries for the male models. I doubt if working for free will pass his accountants. Have you figured out a way to deal with that?"

"I told him that, since the men I got were unknowns, he could pay scale and that you all wanted your salaries to go to the children's wing of Hospital. He actually liked that idea and was thinking of pointing out that the show would be contributing to that particular charity. I thought you would also like that idea as well."

Elizabeth responded. "I think that is a wonderful idea."

Michael spoke up at this point. "What about the makeup people? Won't they notice that we are not using them?"

Emily responded. "I told Pierre that I had found someone that specialized in movie makeup who would do the beast makeup for the men. Anybody could fill that role since he won't really have to do anything."

"You still have to figure out how to slip us into the show in the first place." Joseph remarked.

"We will be using the basement of Belvedere Castle as our changing area. I thought about curtaining off the back area near the tunnel access as the men's changing and makeup area. There are still some details of how to make the switch without anyone else catching on but that shouldn't be too hard. I just need to find some men who already know about you and can pass as unmade-up versions of you."

Peter spoke up at this point. "We may be able to help you there but I don't know if we can find enough helpers that are tall enough."

Emily thought a moment. "We can work with that. All seven male models don't have to arrive at the same time."

"As crazy as it sounds, I think you may actually be able to pull this off." Vincent remarked. "Catherine and I would both love to see you two married in the open daylight."

"There is one other thing. I need to get all of your measurements to Pierre so that the clothes will fit properly." Emily added.

The next hour was spent making sure that she got everyone's sizes down correctly. Then she checked over her list. The next day Emily sent Pierre the general dimensions of Devin and his cousins, along with copies of some of her concept sketches for the stage settings and props.

~ x x x x x ~

Emily had just returned from Florida and she was down in the tunnels relaxing with Devin.

"We have four men that are large enough to pass as the un-made-up males." He was telling her.

"I think we can make it work with that." She thought a moment. "They can show up one at a time and three of them can go out the tunnel and come back around a few minutes later. Hopefully no one will notice anything unusual."

"Have you any preferences in our vows?" Devin asked.

She glanced down shyly a moment. "Well, I, ah I kinda like the ones that were used in Brigit's book. Since the finale is based on that book it seems like the perfect fit." She looked up at him. "What about you?"

Devin smiled at her. "I've loved that book since I was a child, so I like your idea. The vows in that scene do happen to express my feelings perfectly - especially the part about joining our two very different worlds." He grinned playfully at her. "Any thoughts about our honeymoon?"

She smiled back. "Anywhere you want, dear. I only have one condition."

He could sense a strong current of _amusement_ rising in her. "And what is that?" He asked.

Her grin widened. "You have to take me with you."

"I thought that maybe we could go out to the Chandler lake house in Connecticut. It's secluded and it's beautiful out there at that time of year. It's where Catherine and Vincent spent their honeymoon. Mom and Dad also went there for their honeymoon as well as Uncle Charles and Aunt Linda. It's practically a Chandler-Wells tradition. And the logistics of getting there and back safely are well established by now."

Emily laughed. "Far be it from me to mess with tradition. Besides, I've heard about this place and I would like to see it for myself." She turned serious. "What about the priest?"

"Elizabeth has already talked to him and he is OK with the whole covert wedding plot. He even agreed to wear the outfit from the movie."

Emily sighed with relief. "That's great."

They leaned in together and kissed. Soon the wedding plans were the furthest thing from their minds."

~ x x x x x ~

**Late October 2036**

Emily was with Linda when they had made a little side trip to visit a very old friend of Catherine's, named Nancy Tucker, that was living in a nursing home. Both of Nancy's children had also been there visiting and had just left. They were in the common room when Emily spotted Danny, her overseas security guard, coming in through the main entrance. When Emily greeted him he introduced the two women that had come in with him. One was his 'little' sister and the other was his mother. He told her that he was in town to visit his parents and they were here visiting his senile grandmother; the one that claimed the Creature of Central Park was real. Danny's grandmother was sitting over at a table by herself looking at a fashion magazine. Emily knew from conversations with Danny, that she was around sixty-one but she looked eighty-one.

As they approached, the old woman's eyes opened wide in surprise and recognition. She grabbed the edge of Emily's cloak and stared piercingly into Emily's eyes. "You know don't you? You've seen him."

"Pardon me, who are you talking about?" Emily responded in alarm at the intensity in the old woman's eyes.

"Now, Grams, you need to calm down. You know what the doctor said about letting yourself get worked up." Danny implored as he stepped up and tried to get his grandmother to release her hold on Emily's cloak. Two of the nursing home attendants had also started to close in on their location.

The old woman's eyes bore into Emily like a power drill as she continued to cling to the edge of her cloak. "I know you've seen him. You're wearing his cape." On her face was a look of wild-eyed desperation.

Emily waved off the attendants then indicated that Danny should sit down and take it easy as she settled herself into another chair next to the old woman. Emily smiled at the old woman. "Why don't you tell me about it?" She gently urged her. "You could start by telling me your name." Emily laid her hand on the woman's frail shoulder trying to calm her. "Danny tells me that you already know who I am, so it's only fair that I know your name as well."

The wild-eyed look of desperation faded and old woman seemed to relax as she released her grip on Emily's cloak. "My name is Deborah but everyone calls me Deb." Danny, his sister, his mother and Linda all took seats at the table making it just a bit crowded. A clear-eyed thoughtful look spread across Deborah's face as she drifted back through the years to a time long ago. "I first saw the creature when I was eleven years old back in 1988. Several of us unwanted kids were living with this man that taught us how to pick pockets and then had us work the crowded streets. We had just taken in a new girl named Ellie Peterson and we were starting to become friends. The creature and the woman with him invaded our hideout and they took Ellie away with them. I never saw Ellie again." Deborah's whole attitude softened as she talked. "I saw the creature and that same woman again nearly a year later in an alley near the park late one night. They were chasing this black wino named Rolley. After that Rolley started acting even flakier than normal." She glanced over at Danny and his mother. "Then the year after your mom was born I saw that creature again. Rolley went off with it and I never saw him again either.

Emily placed her hand over Deborah's and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I believe you, Deb." Emily glanced around at the others at the table. "This is for your ears only and the rest of them won't believe me, but this cloak was given to me by the Creature of Central Park, himself." She glanced at the surprised looks on the others faces, then back at the soft smile on the old woman's face. "You understand that the creature is a secret that we must keep to ourselves. We should only speak of him to those who have been lucky enough to have seen him. Danny and your daughter will never believe 'cause they've never seen."

The old woman nodded knowingly as Emily and Linda stood up. "We have to go now but it was a pleasure meeting you."

Danny spoke to her quietly. "I'm not too sure about your tactics, but that is the first time I've seen her smile in a long time, and she didn't get upset like she usually does about the creature." He gave her a quick hug. "Anyway, thanks."

After a quick goodbye and exchange of hugs with Nancy, Emily informed her that Deb had encountered Vincent on three separate occasions and might appreciate a sympathetic person to talk with. Then they headed back to the tunnels.

_**Continued in Part 13**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	13. The Wedding Show

**Model Beast  
**_By Thomas Mc_**  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 13 : The Wedding Show**

**Halloween 2036**

"My parents are in town visiting. Would it be ok if they were included in the audience of the show?" Emily asked Pierre as they were discussing last minute details for his big fashion show tomorrow. "I would consider it a great favor."

Pierre nodded. "After all you've done to help me put this thing together, how could I refuse?" He then got a concerned look as he glanced at the four tall men she had introduced to him. "Are you sure that the other three will be here in time for the show tomorrow?"

"No need to worry." She responded. "The others are due to arrive later tonight. They will all be there for the show tomorrow morning in plenty of time." She smiled at him reassuringly. "Don't worry so much Pierre, I have your male models all lined up, and I guarantee that you will be amazed when you see them in the show. The makeup artist is here and ready, I saw him yesterday." The previous day, Elizabeth had introduced Emily to the man that would be playing the part of the makeup artist. Elizabeth had told her that he had been a helper many years ago before he moved to California, and he was familiar enough with the movie industry to easily pull off the part of a makeup artist.

~ x x x x x ~

Emily arrived early at the Castle. She wanted to make sure that everything went smoothly with her little ruse. The workmen had finished building the stage the previous night. The main stage was located right next to the castle. On either side of the main stage the models would pass under two, six foot wide by eight foot tall, arches that were covered with red and white roses. A fifty foot long, six foot wide runway jutted out from the center of the main stage, making a T-shape. At the far end of the runway was a ten foot diameter round stage where the models would strike their poses.

She went down to the castle basement where they were already setting up the changing and makeup areas for the models. Richard, the man that was playing the part of the Beast make-up artist, was directing the arrangement of his area at the back of the basement where the secret entrance was located. The men's outfits had already been brought in and were lined up in order on a clothing rack over by the wall.

Richard had begun unloading and setting up a fairly realistic looking movie make-up station when Pierre came up behind Emily. She turned around to see a wide-eyed look of recognition on Pierre's face. "Richard Cunningham?" Pierre exclaimed in surprise. Emily felt a moment of panic. If Pierre knew this guy then her plans could very well fall apart right here and now. "Emily why didn't you tell me, you little sneak?" Pierre put his arm around her shoulder. "When you told me you had someone that could do the beast make-up, you forgot to say that it was because he was the one that did it for the movie."

Pierre was very impressed . . . so, by the way, was Emily. Elizabeth had not mentioned Richard's profession when she had introduced her to him a couple of days ago. At least now Emily understood how the Beast character in 'The Hidden Kingdom' could have looked so much like Devin and his family.

Richard pulled out several beast muzzle appliances and laid them on the table beside the makeup. "Most of the work has already been done for the movie and I will just be recycling some of the same appliances we used there. It will allow me to get your actors, ah, models made-up very quickly."

Pierre turned and left feeling more at ease about Emily's preparations, now. He was putting a lot of faith in her assurances that she had it all covered. So far she hadn't let him down.

As Pierre disappeared up the stairs, Richard busted out laughing. "Oh, Emily, the look on your face a moment ago was priceless." He continued to set up the make-up station that they both knew wouldn't be used. "My parents were helpers and I spent a lot of time in the tunnels." He looked at Emily with a wistful smile. "I really have enjoyed seeing Charles and Jacob again. Their boys have all grown so in the fifteen years since I was last here."

~ o ~

The four fake male models had arrived and three of them had gone out the secret tunnel so that they could arrive as the three remaining models. Devin and his male relatives were changing into their first sets of clothes. Richard was off to the side talking to Vincent and the remaining model pretender. Emily was also in the changing area giving last minute instructions and advice to Devin and his relatives. Devin was in the process of changing into the shirt for the first outfit, his very muscular and very furry upper torso in full display, much to Emily's distracted delight.

Pierre came barging into the curtained off back area nearly running into Emily and Devin. "Emily my dear, have . . ." Pierre's eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he took in the scene before him. For a moment they all stood there staring at each other in silence. One of the fake models walked through the curtain at that moment and bumped into Pierre.

Pierre's eyes traveled up Devin's length, taking in his powerful furry torso, clawed hands, and very real face. He glanced momentarily at the untouched Beast make-up table then at Richard and the fake model over with Vincent. He looked back at Devin. Finally he blurted out in surprise. "You're . . . **real?**" He again glanced around at the others. "You're **all** real!"

After a couple of seconds, Emily recovered from her startled shock and glanced around at the others. "Well I told you I could get models that would be perfect for the look you wanted." She shrugged. She then threw her arms around Devin's neck and gave him a quick kiss. "Have fun and don't forget your lines for the wedding." Then she spoke to the rest. "Good luck guys. See you on the runway." She turned and linked her arm through the elbow of the stunned fashion designer. "Come on, Pierre. You've got a fashion show to run." And she guided the dumbfounded man out of the changing area.

As they reached the stairs on the other side of the basement, Pierre looked dazedly at Emily. "They **were** real, weren't they? I wasn't just seeing things?" His gaze swept the basement and settled on her dark hooded cloak, hung up next to the female model changing area. "You weren't kidding that time you said the Central Park Creature gave you that cloak."

Emily held her finger to her lips, her eyes dancing with humor. "Shhh, it's a secret. You can't tell anyone or they will all have to bug out in a hurry." She turned him around and gave him a gentle nudge towards the stairs. "You've got a show to run, and I have to get changed into my first outfit. Now hurry along, Pierre, and don't worry. The show will be perfect."

Pierre made his way up the stairs in a befuddled state. At the top he turned to the two security guards, took a deep breath, paused and took another breath, trying to get himself back into some semblance of control. "No one is allowed down there but the models and the necessary staff. Especially, no press allowed." He shook himself, squared his shoulders, and headed to his position behind the stage.

~ o ~

Pierre was trying to deal with the concept that all seven of the Beast's in his fashion show were real live lion-man creatures, just like the Beast in 'The Hidden Kingdom'. He realized that by a chance twist of fate, he had become privy to a huge, mind boggling, secret that no one would ever believe. Already his mind was swirling with a million questions.

As he glanced around at the audience of fashion reporters and buyers, all in Halloween costumes, he noticed that the crowd was much larger than it should have been and there seemed to be an unusually large proportion of people dressed in clothing that made him think of medieval peasants. Something about the look of this group peaked his interest. There was a very romantic feel about the look of their clothes that he wished he could duplicate in his own clothing lines.

He noticed one from this group standing very close by and, almost absentmindedly, began to note the details of her costume when one certain detail caught his eye. The scrollwork embroidery along the sleeve of her dress was exactly like the embroidery along the boarder of Emily's cloak. Then the woman noticed someone in the crowd and moved away from him.

Soon the musicians, he had hired, started up. Pierre dragged his attention back to the job at hand. It was time for him to begin directing the fashion show.

Emily reached the top of the basement stairs and recognized one of the two guards. "Danny! What are you doing here?"

Danny smiled back at her. "I was still in town and they offered me this gig so I took it. Somebody has to keep an eye on you and keep you out of trouble." His expression got a bit more serious. "By the way, thanks for talking to my grandmother. She has been in much better spirits ever since your visit. And she has stopped bothering everyone and insisting that her creature is real. She has also become friends with another woman there named Nancy."

Emily smiled back. "Your grandmother was very sweet and I enjoyed talking to her."

It was two o'clock and as the announcer began reading the first lines from Brigit's book, Emily waved to Danny and took her place behind the left archway. Devin, who would be second, approached Pierre.

"Which side do I start on?" Devin asked.

Pierre had not heard Devin come up behind him and he nearly jumped out of his skin. After taking a second to compose himself, Pierre pointed to the archway on the right side of the stage. He didn't quite trust himself to speak.

"Thank-you." Devin replied to him, and then headed over to where Pierre had pointed.

From her vantage point Emily saw the little exchange and felt Devin's emotional reactions to it. Pierre was temporarily disconcerted and missed the first cue for Emily to start. Emily knew the general order and stepped out right on her cue anyway. A half beat later Pierre realized what was happening and dragged his attention back to the show. Emily was at the top of her game as she strutted down the runway. She was master of the runway and every eye turned to follow her down the runway. She reached the circular stage as the narrator began his description of her clothes.

After a couple of turns and poses, Emily started back just as the narrator began reading lines from another part of Brigit's book. At that same instant, Pierre signaled Devin to start and he stepped out onto the stage. Pierre was impressed as he watched Devin stride down the runway with a catlike grace that practically oozed a very sensual masculine power. He also noticed the look Devin and Emily gave each other as they crossed at the midpoint of the runway. There was definitely something going on with those two. Pierre shook himself and watched Devin's performance. Though not as polished as a professional model, he certainly packed a hell of an impact out there on the stage.

As he posed out on the circular stage, Devin tried hard to remember Emily's advice and forget that there were dozens of outsiders staring back at him as well as many of his friends out there watching him. He had never felt so exposed in his life. Then he felt Emily's _love_ flowing over him, warming him and his fears melted away.

Emily exited the stage as the next model, Jessica, took up her position waiting for her turn, then paused to watch Devin posing out at the round stage. Jessica was also staring intently out at Devin. There was an almost dreamy look in her eyes. When Devin started on his way back, Jessica almost missed her cue and Emily had to give her a little nudge to get her moving.

As Jessica and Devin passed each other at the mid-point of the runway, she wobbled just a bit but quickly recovered. Emily ran around to the other side of the main stage to meet Devin as he came off the stage.

"Devin, you were magnificent!" She grinned. "You certainly had an effect on Jessica."

Devin actually blushed and she could feel his _embarrassment_. "I've never affected a woman like that before . . . except for you, that is."

She linked arms with him and headed back towards the castle. "I guess I'd better keep an eye on those other models around you. Don't want them trying to steal you away."

~ o ~

It was an hour into the fashion show and Pierre had finally begun to really relax and accept the fact that the Beasts in his show were the real thing. Besides, the buyers and magazine photographers were eating it up. Then as he listened to the narrator, it hit him like a ton of bricks. The first segment was over and the next was about to begin. The children's clothes were next and in a few seconds the two eight year olds were supposed to step out onto the stage escorted by the Beast. As he stood there frozen, his mind racing around in circles, the cue came from the narrator.

Pierre looked up in surprise to see a magnificent white headed lion-man step out onto the stage with an eight year old gripping each clawed hand. At the center of the stage he knelt down and whispered something to the children that made them giggle. Then he stood up and led them down the runway to the round stage at the end where he again knelt to whisper something to them. This wasn't part of the script! Then the two children strutted around the lion-man as the narrator described their clothes. At the proper moment the lion-man stood up and led the two children back.

Next the two adolescent models stepped out onto the stage to do their thing. When they returned, the white headed lion-man again stepped out carrying the two five year old girls, one in each arm, each wearing one of the fairy princess outfits. He strode down the runway to the round stage as the two girls giggled and waved to the audience. Once there he sat down cross legged in the center of the stage, his dark cloak spread around him while the two little girls bounced and pranced around him. At a quiet word from him, the two girls jumped back into his arms, and then he gracefully rose up and carried them back up the runway and off the stage, moving as though the two children weighed nothing at all. Pierre realized that it had to have taken a tremendous amount of strength and dexterity to do that so effortlessly.

There were a total of eight outfits for each age group and Pierre just stood there stunned as that part of the show deviated widely from his original plan, ending up far better and more intriguing than he could have imagined. The younger children apparently loved that white headed lion-man and did their parts in the show to perfection with just a few words from that lion-man to guide them.

~ o ~

During the Children's part of the fashion show, the models and the Chandler-Wells men were back stage getting changed for the finale. They were all dressed in clothes from Pierre's line of formalwear. Once dressed and ready, they were paired up and given last minute instructions. This was the girls' first chance to really get close to the boys for any length of time.

The models were all fascinated by their escorts with the exception of Caitlin. Once she got a close-up look at Jacob, she became very nervous and kept edging away from him. Jacob moved out of the line up and caught Emily's attention. "Emily, we have a problem." He glanced back at Caitlin. "The girl that I've been paired with is afraid of me. I don't think she is going to be able to do this."

Emily pulled Caitlin aside and talked to her for a minute. It was quickly evident that Caitlin was very afraid of all of the Chandler-Wells men. Emily was desperate, this could ruin everything.

Then she remembered a previous fashion show and ran upstairs and out into the park to speak to Pierre. Emily told Pierre that there was a minor snag and he needed to give them a few extra minutes to straighten things out.

Emily ran out into the audience and grabbed Elizabeth, dragging her back down into the basement. She assured Caitlin that everything would be OK then got Elizabeth into Caitlin's outfit. A little minor shuffling of the pairing and everything was ready. Elizabeth was paired with Charles, which seemed appropriate; Claudia was paired with Jacob, she was also currently happily married; Jessica was paired with Michael, she seemed to have trouble keeping her eyes off him; Cynthia was paired with Peter; Randy was paired with William, he seemed to have trouble keeping his eyes off her; and Heidi was paired with Joseph, they seemed to have trouble keeping their eyes off each other.

Emily ran upstairs and informed Pierre that the crisis had been dealt with. Pierre had stalled for time by directing all of the young models to go out to the round stage together and had the narrator introduce each of them to the audience. Emily ran back down to get changed into the wedding dress. The pale pink wedding dress had a distinctive medieval flair to it. It was trimmed in white scrollwork embroidery that was very similar to the embroidery that adorned the cloak that Devin had given her. With the help of two assistants, she managed to get the complicated outfit on in record time. As she glanced at herself in the mirror she thought that she looked every inch the princess about to wed her prince.

~ o ~

The narrator began reading from the introduction to the wedding scene in the Brigit O'Donnell book as the two decorative arches on either side of the stage were being moved to the far end of the runway. Once joined together, on the round stage, they formed a, six foot by six foot by eight foot high, rose covered arbor very much like the one that Emily had sketched out.

Two young tween girls, still dressed in clothes from their last change and escorted by the two tween boys, walked the runway scattering rose petals as they went. The four tweens took positions at the four corners of the arbor.

Next the priest, dressed in the medieval costume from the movie, walked down the runway to the center of the arbor. Then, after a short pause for some more lines by the narrator, the six very unusual couples, lead by Elizabeth and Charles came down the runway and circled the arbor while the narrator described their outfits. Then the couples took up equidistant positions around the outer edge of the circular stage.

Emily came pelting up the basement stairs just as the small orchestra launched into the love theme from 'The Hidden Kingdom'. She took her position and stepped up onto one end of the stage as Devin stepped onto the other end. Devin's outfit had a romantic medieval flair that perfectly matched his appearance and complimented her dress. Their eyes locked onto each other and for them the rest of the world faded away. As they approached the center of the stage, their sense of each other's emotions intensified. Emily could feel herself drowning in the _love_ that was coming from Devin. Devin felt overwhelmed by the waves of Emily's _love_ that were washing over him. For a moment they just stood there bright green eyes gazing into blue-gray eyes.

Pierre, from his vantage point couldn't help noticing the look on both their faces as Emily and Devin met in the middle of the main stage and was stunned by a revelation. They both heard Pierre's quiet exclamation. "There's more to this wedding scene than just the show's finale isn't there? This wedding is real!" They both glanced back at Pierre and he was nearly blinded by the brilliant light of joy from both their faces.

Emily and Devin turned and walked the runway together hand in hand. Emily had to hold on tight because she felt her legs go rubbery when their hands met and she was afraid she would fall if she let go. Devin felt his life suddenly coming together as he felt her _love_ and _joy_ coursing through their link with overwhelming intensity. They both felt like they were walking through a beautiful magical dream as they made their way together along the rose petal covered runway toward their future. The audience was entranced as they watched the couple travel down the runway, love radiating in every step they took. The flash of the cameras were popping so fast it produced a nearly continuous light that only added to the magical feel of the moment.

Emily and Devin came to a stop in the center of the round stage under the arbor. Emily glanced around at the trees, the castle, the rose covered arbor, her heart overflowing. The fairytale wedding that she had dreamed of since childhood was really happening. Her eyes locked onto Devin's face. What more perfect groom could there be for the perfect fairytale wedding?

As they clasped hands Emily was only aware of Devin's presence as they spoke the words pledging their love to each other and tying their lives together while the orchestra softly played the original romantic background music from the movie. At the same time both of their hearts were pledging the more profound joining of their souls together over their bond that was now singing with their emotions.

Then it came to the exchanging of the rings and for the first time Emily and Devin saw the rings that would symbolize their union as the priest produced and handed them to the bride and groom. The silver and gold engraved rings that they exchanged were one of the five sets that had been made for the movie. Richard had 'liberated' them from the movie set and had presented them to the priest just before he had come onto the stage. Devin and Emily were both surprised and moved by this gift. Soon the beautifully simple ceremony was over and the bride and groom kissed.

As they separated from their kiss Devin leaned back his head and roared in triumph, startling half the audience. Pierre jumped and nearly fell over. That was certainly not in the script.

There was a low murmur from the audience as they marveled in wonder at what they had just observed. Where had that roar come from? It had sounded as if it had really come from that oh-so-real looking lion-man up on the stage. How had it been done? Some suggested a loudspeaker hidden in the arbor.

Then the wedding party made their way back down the runway as the strains of the movie's love theme again swelled to fill the park around them. Emily and Devin were completely lost in the magic of the moment.

As the wedding party exited the stage, Linda, Catherine and Emily's parents made their way through the crowd to the Belvedere Castle entrance where they were met by Vincent. Pierre followed them down to the basement where he congratulated everyone on a job well done. All the while he kept looking over at Emily and Devin. Then he headed back up the stairs and everyone began changing out of their costumes.

The original plan was for the wedding party to head down to the tunnel community's dining chamber where the reception would be held. But that plan didn't quite go as intended.

_**Continued in Part 14**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	14. The Honeymoon

**Model Beast  
**_By Thomas Mc_**  
**

**

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**

**Chapter 14 : The Honeymoon**

After Emily had changed out of her bridal gown she headed to the back of the basement where she joined the rest of the family. Pierre had returned, carrying a large box. He saw Emily enter the back section and followed her. When he barged in he saw Emily in Devin's arms, Catherine in Vincent's arms, Linda in Jacobs arms, and Elizabeth in Charles' arms. There was also a pretty redhead that he didn't recognize in Peter's arms. He stared at the scene for a moment as the wheels began to turn in his head. Finally he spoke. "That wedding scene **was** the real thing, wasn't it?" His gaze swept the area. "And the Creature of Central Park is also real." He approached Emily and Devin. "You used my fashion show in order to hide the fact that you were staging your own real live wedding to the Creature of Central Park in plain sight of the public."

Emily looked at Devin then back at Pierre. "Yes." Again she glanced at Devin. "Devin is the real thing and I did use your fashion show as a smoke screen to stage my own wedding. It was the only way I could have the wedding that I really wanted without exposing the truth about Devin and his family." She glanced down at the floor then looked half contritely back up at Pierre. "Are you very angry with me?"

Pierre again swept the room with his gaze. "No, of course not . . . You've made the introduction of my new line a rousing success, far beyond my wildest dreams and I don't think any of the other designers will **ever** be able to top it." He shook his head. "For that matter, I'm not sure how I am ever going to top today's show." Pierre set the box on a table and opened it, pulling out six bottles of champagne and setting one of the bottles out of sight under the makeup table. He raised his voice. "I've brought champagne in to celebrate a very successful show. The buyers are going crazy over the new line." Then he lowered his voice to a whisper. "And to celebrate your wedding."

Very soon a small celebration had sprung into being in the basement, making it impossible for the wedding party to make their escape into the tunnels. After a while, Emily began noticing some pairings among the models. Jessica had taken a liking to and tended to hang with Michael. Randy and William were dancing to the music from the boom-box that Caitlin always brought to her jobs. Heidi and Joseph were off in a corner deep in some type of discussion.

Emily noticed Caitlin off in a corner by herself and went over to her. "Aren't you going to join the party?"

Caitlin looked at Emily for a moment then spoke. "Emily, those guys aren't models . . . they're the real thing! Those claws and fangs are real!" There was uncertainty, disbelief and a hint of fear in her eyes.

Emily nodded. "I know." She answered quietly.

Now surprise became paramount in Caitlin's eyes. Then she glanced at the coupled beasts. "But those other women . . ."

"They know."

Caitlin shivered and looked back at Emily then her gaze returned to the others. "But they're not afraid?"

"Of their husbands?"

Caitlin's eyes got wide as saucers then she looked at Emily with disbelief. "They're . . . You're . . ."

"As of today I am also." Emily's smile widened as Caitlin's jaw dropped. She placed her hand on Caitlin's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "You have no reason to fear them and you're welcome to join the party." Then she headed over to Devin.

Emily decided that as long as they were stuck here she was going to celebrate. She pulled Devin over to an open space next to Randy and William. She and Devin began to dance as she once again enjoyed the feel of being in Devin's arms.

A few minutes later Caitlin came out of her corner and hesitantly approached Robert, Catherine and Vincent. Vincent noticed her approach, nodded to her and casually included her in their conversation. Caitlin soon began to lose her fear and started enjoying herself. She found it impossible to listen to his voice for any length of time without being drawn in.

As they were dancing, Randy had been gazing into William's face. She had quickly gone from suspecting William's true nature to becoming convinced that he was the real thing. Jessica and Caitlin both now knew that they were all real. Heidi, Claudia and Cynthia are still clueless.

About forty-five minutes after the party had started, Claudia announced that she had to leave to meet her husband.

About an hour after the little party started Pierre announced that it was time to shut things down. He began shooing everybody out except the lion-men and obvious members of their party.

After a quick discussion, Jessica and Heidi invited Michael and Joseph to go with them to a costume party that they were planning to go to out on Long Island.

Charles looked at Joseph a moment. "Joseph is a bit young." He glanced at Elizabeth. "What do you think?"

Michael assures them. "Don't worry about Joseph; I'll keep an eye on him, keep him out of trouble."

Elizabeth shrugged, though Charles could catch a hint of _concern_ over their link. They all knew the danger but they also knew that, today of all days, he would probably be safe, especially with the current Beauty and The Beast craze. And he still had his link to his sons incase there was a problem. "OK. You both stay out of trouble."

Cynthia and Caitlin both decided to go to the party with them.

Randy glanced up into William's face, they had their arms around each other's waist, then she returned her attention to the rest of the group and spoke up. "I think that I'm going to hang around here with William." She smiled up at him. "I find him very interesting and would like to get to know him better."

Within a few minutes the basement was clear of everyone except the family, the few helpers, Pierre and Randy. Pierre pulled out the remaining champagne bottle and handed it to Devin. "A gift to the bride and groom." He smiled and left the basement.

William glanced around at the others then down into Randy's face. "Randy and I are going to go for a walk in the park." He looked up at Elizabeth and Charles. "I'll be home later." Then he and Randy headed up the stairs.

The remainder finally head below for the official reception. Devin left the bottle Pierre had given them with the rest of their luggage. The guests at the reception had already heard about the impromptu party in the castle basement and had been patiently waiting for the wedding party's arrival.

~ o ~

Later that evening, after the reception began to wind down, the 'Honeymoon Caravan' loaded up behind the brownstone and left for the Chandler lake house in Connecticut. In the lead van were Elizabeth and Linda. The second van contained Devin and Emily, Cherry was driving. The last van was driven by Clarissa. The basic logistics of a lake house visit had been worked out years ago for Catherine and Vincent's honeymoon. One van would be left at the lake house. Elizabeth, Linda and Cherry would be returning to New York in the second van. Clarissa would be staying in a nearby town with the daughter of Nancy, an old friend of Catherine's

~ o ~

Once they were alone in the lake house, Devin built a fire in the fireplace and put some romantic music on the stereo. The two of them settled on the thick rug before the fire and Devin opened the bottle of champagne that Pierre had given to them. Soon they were toasting their future and enjoying the very fine champagne.

Emily was just a bit nervous. She wondered what it would be like to making love with the bond in the picture.

Devin touched her cheek then leaned in for a kiss. Soon Emily's worries melted away. Devin knew exactly what she needed and wanted. Emily found that she knew exactly what Devin needed and wanted as well. The closer they got and the stronger their emotions became, the deeper the bond became. It wasn't long before their clothes were scattered haphazardly on the floor around them.

That's when Emily first experienced the incredible sensuous feel of Devin's fur covered body pressed against and wrapped around her own body. She held him close and reveled in this new sensation. Feeling her reaction, Devin took full advantage of it to drive her further over the edge. At the same time Emily was feeling Devin's reactions and using it to push him over the edge.

Soon they were both feeling the other's physical sensations as well as their emotions. It was like standing in a hall of mirrors with their feelings and sensations endlessly reflected, echoed back and forth between them. Just before all rational thought fled leaving only emotion and sensation, Emily became aware of both of their hearts beating in unison. Then they were engulfed in a swell of emotional ecstasy that completely overwhelmed them as they both truly became one, emotionally and physically.

Several times that evening they rode that rolling crest of emotional thunder, punctuated by joyous laughter and gentle moments of quiet embraces while staring into each other's eyes, until they were completely exhausted.

A long time later they both lay spent before the fire. Emily and Devin were both still dazed by the enormity of what they had just experienced. Though not inexperienced, nothing she had ever felt came within a hint of what she had just encountered. Even just laying in his arms was a more all encompassing experience than anything she had ever done.

Neither was interested in getting up so Devin simply grabbed the edge of the rug and pulled it over them. Enclosed in each other's arms, they slowly drifted off to sleep.

~ x x x x x ~

Emily awoke to the warmth of the dying fire against the side of her face and the delicious feel of Devin's strong fur covered arms wrapped around her. She opened her eyes to see his face smiling back at her. After a moment she commented. "You once told me that when sex and love coincide it can be explosively beautiful. I thought you were exaggerating. Now I see that it was a massive understatement." She smiled. "I had no idea it could be anything like that. Did you?"

He gently trailed his hand down her back sending shivers up and down her spine. "Not first hand, but based on the faint echoes that I have occasionally gotten from father, I suspected that it would be pretty impressive."

Her eyes got wide. "You felt it when . . ."

"Only occasionally." He grinned. "It's not that hard to block the link between us and our parents, but sometimes the block leaks." He kissed her nose. "It's all part of being what I am."

"Then your father just . . ." She suddenly blushed bright red.

"I doubt it. We're miles away, he and I both had our barriers up, and he was in the middle of all the emotional noise of the tunnels. Besides, based on what I was feeling from them just before we left, I suspect that most of his attention was on mother last night." He smiled as his eyes took on a wicked gleam.

The motion of his hands was getting progressively more erotic and Emily was having trouble thinking about anything else. It wasn't long before the only consideration was his reactions to her actions and vice versa.

~ x x x x x ~

It was an unseasonably warm day, in the lower sixties. Emily looked around at the riot of color in the fall leaves as they walked through the wooded areas of the lake property. They came to a four foot tall stone wall that was toped by a four foot split rail fence. Though tall enough to keep out most intruders, it didn't detract from the overall view of the countryside. It had been three days since they had arrived here and it was the first time, since their arrival, that they had left the house.

As they headed back toward the lake house they stopped beside a particularly large tree halfway between the wall and the house. Devin looked up and, catching a sense of _nostalgia_ from him, Emily also looked up. About fifty feet up in the tree she saw a fairly large wooden tree fort.

The tree fort had two levels. The lower one was about four foot by six foot with a fourteen inch diameter tree branch through the middle of it and a wooden picket fence around its edge. About ten feet over and three feet higher was a second larger six foot by eight foot platform, also surrounded by a picket fence, which was supported by three large branches and joined to the other platform by a rope bridge.

"Dad, Mom, Uncle Charles and Aunt Elizabeth spent an entire summer building that back in 2005. We all grew up hearing tales of that summer." He stared up at it for a moment as she felt the swirl of his emotions that accompanied his memories. "I have many fond memories of days spent here."

Devin looked over at Emily and she saw the playfully sexy gleam in his eyes that matched the _mischievous_ and _slightly erotic_ emotions she felt emanating from him. His arm swept around her waist and before she could even think of protesting he had carried her up into the tree and set her down on the larger upper platform. It had happened so fast she had to take a few seconds to recover from the surprise. She knew he was very strong, fast and agile, but would never have thought him capable of such a feat.

When she finally got over the shock, she glanced around then slowly turned around within his encircling arms as her wonder filled gaze swept the vista that surrounded her. The view was magnificent. To the west was a large grassy meadow. To the north and east was seemingly endless forest. To the south through the thinner trees, she could just make out the lake and the lake house.

Then she was facing him again and he captured her lips in a passionate kiss. As the kiss deepened she felt her own erotic desires rising fast to match those she felt in him. Devin whipped off his hooded cloak and placed it on he floor of the platform. She pulled off hers and laid it over his then she kneeled down pulling him down with her. As their passions rose they began shedding clothes. Soon they were involved in the most natural of activities between lovers, in the middle of nature at her best.

Devin and Emily lay in the old tree fort enclosed in each other's arms and half covered in a blanket of colorful fallen leaves, watching the beautiful sunset. The air was becoming distinctly chilly and reluctantly they both began to shake the leaves out of their clothes and get dressed. Just as the last rosy light of dusk disappeared they entered the lake house.

~ x x x x x ~

Emily once again awoke to the warmth of the dying fire. As she stood up and moved toward the fireplace Devin woke up. He glanced over at her then stared at her beautifully lithe nude form as she grabbed a log from the woodpile beside the hearth and tossed it onto the fire. She turned to face his huge grin throwing in a little extra wiggle into her movement.

Then there was _surprise_ and _wonder_ in both her face and her emotions as she gazed out the frosted window at the gently falling snow. Devin stood up and placed his arm around her waist and they approached the French doors. For a while they stared out at the winter wonderland that the property had become overnight.

~ o ~

Devin and Emily hung their sopping wet, snow caked, clothes on a hastily improvised rack before the fireplace. Not since childhood had she had so much fun in the snow. Then they retired to the master bath. As they passed through the bedroom she glanced at the bed, that had remained untouched since they arrived eight days ago, and smiled. They kept falling asleep before the parlor fireplace. They continued into the bathroom and indulged in the luxury of a steamy hot shower. Soon things got very playful in the shower and they spent a long time in there together indulging in a bit of good 'clean' fun.

After the shower they again cuddled before the fire with hot tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches and a bottle of wine. Romantic music played in the background as they quietly enjoyed each other's company, savoring the emotions that washed back and forth over their bond.

~ x x x x x ~

Emily woke up in Devin's arms and thought about the last fourteen days. Today they would head back to New York and three days later it was back to their wildly disparate lives. As beautiful and magical as the last two weeks had been she could already feel the first stirrings of wanderlust growing within her.

She gazed down at the face of her still sleeping husband and sighed. She may spend her life traveling the world but she would always be looking forward to the next time she returned home to New York and Devin. She gently touched his face then woke her lover with a kiss. "Wake up sleeping beauty. It's time for the fairy tale to end."

He looked up at her and a soft smile spread across his face. "Oh, no my love. For us the fairy tale is just beginning."

**_THE END_**

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


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